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a fed bear is a dead bear.

12/4/2011

 
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This bear spent Thanksgiving day in camp begging for food. I haven't seen him since, so I'm hoping he went to lower elevation and/or reunited with his mama.
Morning,

We had another mild night. It only dipped down to 30. It was a bit windy all night. It got up to 41 yesterday and it was 34 and hazy at observation this morning. Looks like we might get some clouds this afternoon.

I took a day off hiking yesterday to recover from Friday's 16 miler. I hauled water, cleaned the kitchen and got a lot of reading done. It felt like a productive day.

I wanted to talk about black bears today. I met this little guy on Thanksgiving day. He was active around camp all day. We saw signs of him the previous few days - a few guests saw him and we saw some scat in camp. He was unabashedly begging from people. He wasn't new at this. This is something he learned from people - if I walk around long enough and look cute, eventually someone will throw some food at me.

Bears are wild animals. They normally look for food at dusk and dawn. This is abnormal. It could be that they had a bad year for their natural food sources (which is true this year), but that is no excuse to intervene. This bear has learned bad habits. If he survives the winter, he'll expect food from people.

That leads to a number of problems. He won't be learning how to forage for natural food sources. These food sources are better for him and will lead to him having a healthy and productive life. It's what his kind has survived on for generations - not pizza. Also, it could lead to confrontation with other hikers in the future.  If this scenario unfolds, he'd be labeled a problem bear and potentially hurt someone. Feeding him pizza because he looks skinny is putting his life and other hikers' lives at risk.

It's natural to feel sympathy for such a beautiful creature, but by feeding him you would create more problems than just 'helping him get through the winter'. I think he's cute too and I don't want him to starve. However, I would much rather let nature take it's course than feed him and create a whole new set of problems for him, the parks' visitors and the good folks at the Park Service. If you don't believe me, please read the Appalachian Bear Rescue's FAQ section. They have a number of newspaper articles discussing the fate that awaits problem bears. Please keep the wild animals wild.

Thanks for listening.
Dar
12/4/2011 12:33:51 am

Dar
12/4/2011 12:38:10 am

JP this is very true, we spent 2 weeks in the Appalachains, and all of the park rangers said there were almost no blue berrys this year, as well as the rangers in Cades Cove said a bad year for berries in generial, we saw 7 bears in 1 oak tree trying to get to the acorns, and they did not look good at all, this was in Sep. they should have been fat for the winter.

Jo
12/4/2011 12:50:59 am

JP thanks for this post today. More people need to know the damger in feeding bears. I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Garbage Kills Bears" and people will say "do they choke on the plastic?" I have to explain to them what could happen but then I ma in Ky and we don't have that many bears here yet. But then they need to know because alot of them visit the Smoky's every year.
Thanks again!

Clay
12/4/2011 01:14:48 am

I hope people listen to you! We stayed at Icewater Springs in early November on our way to the lodge. During the night several bears came into the shelter on us multiple times. We would run them away and they would keep coming back ! Finally I had to mace them. I believe someone had left food in the shelter!
Please don't feed bears! Nothing like being in your time bag with bears 6came feet away!

cindy
12/4/2011 01:31:25 am

JP stay on your soapbox about feeding the bears. I'm always warning people that i see getting too close to bears and who leave food for them. It doesn't always make me the most popular person around, but if one bear is saved, then it's worth it. Sooner or later, somebody gets hurt, and it's the bear who pays the price.

Thanks for your daily posts. I look forward to reading them every morning!

Kathy
12/4/2011 01:57:28 am

Thanks JP for the info. I wish people would listen. Back in the late 90's I was in the back country and came upon Park Rangers on a re-lease. They had two bears that had been labeled problem bears due to people feeding them and had caused several issues. One ranger told me that this was their last re-lease; they had been tagged and if they caused anymore problems that the next course would not be a good one. PLEASE, PLEASE stay on this one!!! Thanks for the posts and photos! I really enjoy them everyday.

Donnie R
12/4/2011 03:06:50 am

Great advice and TRUE facts my friend !! Hope all listeners take heed JP....

Doug Y.
12/4/2011 05:34:28 am

Hooray for you JP !! You've got a lot of support here for your bear comments, and you said it very well; But I think there'll always be those morons who think it's their duty or right or whatever to feed them; Every time I'm in the Park and come across some idiot feeding bears I want to make a citizens' arrest on the spot ! Yes, stay on your soapbox on this, and, you certainly won't be alone !!!

SERGIO link
12/4/2011 05:51:38 am

tell em' like it is JP!! ,,,that DontFeedEm' go's for other woodland critters too... evin the cute lil'squirrels

Brant
12/4/2011 08:05:06 am

Sergio, do you mean the "cute lil' squirrels that attack my wife and me when we stop for a snack at Inspiration Point or at Rainbow Falls? They do that b/c they are used to being fed by so many less serious hikers who fall for the cute squirrel routine.

JP, keep up the bear talk. While I feel confident most people seeking out this blog will already know the bear rules, it never hurts to keep discussing them.

CRash
12/4/2011 08:12:53 am

On the other hand, if he hangs out, you could be like the Grizzley Adams of Mt LeConte.

Teresa
12/4/2011 08:33:28 am

JP, you are so right and as of last week I think, Appalachiam Bear Rescue has 31 little ones in rehab for various things. From starvation to being abandoned and orphaned. They are over run with bears they are trying to rehabilitate and take care of. Yes they are cute, but people have got to learn NOT to feed them in ANY way under any condition!

Don
12/4/2011 10:35:35 am

Thanks JP. This is so true. People might think they are saving the bear's life while in actuality they might be shortening it through eradication. If we don't watch after our forest friends, who will? We are not doing the little fella any favors in the long run. Great picture though.

Debi link
12/4/2011 10:36:35 am

Is this the same bear u had been seeing around camp before? Yes, people r stupid. Its about whats best for the bear and other animals, not what people think is best. He does look very cute, I can see people wanting to do stupid things. Just don't act upon stupidy people. You can kill with kindness!!

Bill
12/4/2011 01:05:16 pm

Good advice JP, on a positive bear note I had a mom and baby bear run into me on Old Sugarlands on the way back from Leconte this morning, after a 3 second stare down they bolted, atleast these 2 haven't gotten used 2 people. By the way it was my first bear sighting and I am still giddy.

Wally
12/4/2011 01:35:11 pm

JP, As an Adopt a trail volunteer for the National Park I want to thank you for your words of advice to the folks about letting the bears survive on their own.

Matches
12/5/2011 05:56:01 pm

DON'T FEED THE BEARS
Only you can pervent delinquent bears!


Comments are closed.
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