Page 2 - 2004 DT 9 Issues

Bears Behaving Badly more, it’s turning dumpster bears into Red Rock to Lose Horses

night owls.
ast food has become a way of life Mike Mitchell, a U.S. Geological ed Rock Canyon will lose the 22
in America because, well . . . it’s Survey bear researcher who teaches at wild horses from the Red Rock
Ffast—no shopping for supplies, the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sci- Rherd that remain in the protec-
no worries about individual preferences, ences at Auburn University in Alabama, tive custody of the National Wild Horse
and best of all, no cooking. We’ve even certainly isn’t surprised.
convinced ourselves that fast food tastes “Bears are extremely efficient for-
good. So have the bears. agers and so intelligent, resourceful, and
A recent study by the Wildlife Con- adaptable,” he said. “They’ll figure out ©Photo, Susan Webster
servation Society was conducted in the a good food resource almost instantly
Lake Tahoe area of Nevada comparing and make the best use of it as quickly as
urban and wild black bears to determine they can.”
whether and how urbanization has af- Lake Tahoe’s junk food loving bears
fected bear behavior. Dr. Jon Beckman are up to 30% heavier and one-third less
and colleague Joel Berger recently re- active than their forest brothers. Mitchell
ported their findings in the Journal of says that’s because, with readily acces-
Zoology. sible food sources, the bears expend less Association (NWHA) and the Bureau of
The study points out that more and energy than their wildlands counterparts Land Management (BLM) by February 15.
more bears are relocating to the cities, foraging for the same caloric intake. After a range analysis of the Red
leaving their traditional wild land homes Although there’s no evidence to sug- Rock Herd Management Area con-
gest that garbage is bad for the bears, ducted by the BLM, it was decided that
Mitchell can’t imagine it’s good either. the range was in such poor condition that
Beckman also points out that little there was no alternative but to ship any
is known about what impact this lifestyle unadopted horses to a BLM holding
change is having on the environment. area. The few horses remaining on the
Bears have a role in seed dispersal, re- Red Rock range will be left in place for
moving rotting flesh from the forest the time being.
floor, and helping to decompose
fallen logs. Lunch with PLANT
The most significant result of the
behavioral change is an increase in bear oin the PLANT team for lunch on
mortality, primarily from collisions with the first Saturday of February, the
th
vehicles and conflicts with people. Inci- J7 . We’ll show you how to make a
dents of bears breaking into cars and difference.
homes when people are asleep are in- We’ll start at 10 a.m. with appetiz-
creasing .When conflicts arise between ers and coffee, a few words of wisdom,
wild animals and human populations, the and a walk around the Visitor Center.
animals usually pay the price. We’ll answer your questions and soak
One way to keep bears from identi- up some fresh air under a blue sky, then
in favor of easy pickings. No big sur- fying food with people is to eliminate the back to the Friends’ Room for lunch and
prise, since bears don’t like to cook easy food sources. Beckman and Berger socializing.
either, and why shop for deer and believe that businesses and individuals In order to have the right amount of
blackberries in the forest when you can should be required to purchase and use food, we need to know if you’re com-
pad up to your nearest neighborhood bear-proof dumpsters and garbage cans, ing. Call Clara at 643-1296 and leave a
garbage can or hit a 7-Eleven and raid a remedy that has been proven. message. Let us convince you that so-
the dumpster for tasty leftovers. It’s fast, Bears learn quickly. Perhaps humans larizing and useful hard work can be a
convenient, and habit forming. What’s can, too. good thing. —Clara Hatz

Page 2 FORRC/January 2004