Even though we live in bear country, I’ve never really been worried about the bears out here. Heck, I’m actually more worried about moose usually. They tend to be more ornery and less afraid of humans or dogs than the bears are. Before this week I’d seen two bears the whole time we’d been out here. And bear sign just a handful of times. I know they are out there, but they’ve generally avoided our place.

Now we seem to have a problem bear. I spotted him when I was outside the other day, and he seems to be just a little black bear cub. He’s about the same size as our huskies. I’m not sure where Mama bear is, because black bear cubs usually stay with their mothers for about 2 years, but we haven’t seen any sign of her. I’ve only seen smallish piles of bear scat in the driveway and small claw marks in the dirt.

What Causes A Problem Bear?

Bears are smart creatures with a wonderful sense of smell. They are scavengers and will often eat from trash and compost. They come back again and again because these items are often easy to get into and left in the same area. There are enough bear and people interactions over garbage that bear proof trash cans are even required in some cities.  Bears will also eat things like animal feed, bird seed and even small pets if given the chance. Food is so abundant near people, it even makes bears fat!

Why Is This Bear Sticking Around?

I have a few guesses why this bear is sticking around. For one, we’ve been tying the dogs up more often, rather than giving them free rein of the area. Kolache likes to visit a friend’s cabin regularly, but then he wants to hang out for a few days before coming home and we are trying to break him of that. This means less marking and patrolling to scare away bears.

We’ve also been driving the same truck home that we haul fish in. Even though it’s rinsed out after we deliver fish to the processor, I’m sure it still smells to bear. We also feed our dogs salmon scraps and bring home salmon for us to eat as well. And I’ve been composting this year, which is something I hadn’t done out here before.

Add the yummy smells and tied up dogs together with the fact that I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Mama Bear, and I think he’s alone and hungry. Not a bear experience I’m particularly pleased to be having. Especially if I’m wrong about the mom, because then we have TWO bear problems.

How Are We Managing Bear Conflicts?

Number one, I’m ditching the compost! I’ll bury my current pile away from the house and hope I cover it with enough brown material to drown out the yummy smells. Next year I’ll compost in a completely enclosed bin like this (Amazon link) or inside a green house. I’ll grab lots of manure to really heat up my compost and help things decompose more quickly.  Also, adding coffee grounds and mint leaves is supposed to help deter bears from compost as well.

Secondly, we’ll be setting up a wireless electric perimeter fence for the dogs (Amazon link). Hopefully, two dogs patrolling will convince this bear to move along. Next year I’d like to get a third husky for more protection, but probably an older trained rescue. I can only handle one dog with puppy manners at a time!

We also have ideas for the future. I’m planning on having livestock again, and I would love to have a few beehives. We’ll also be adding an orchard over the next few years. All of these could potentially attract bears. We’ll use electric fences to protect our animals and hives, and plant our gardens and orchard in clearings to deter bears from eating the fruits.

A Last Resort…

Unfortunately, allowing this bear to continue to stalk our property is dangerous. According to Fish and Game, bears may be killed in defense of life or property. We do have weapons in case it comes to that, but I’m really hoping it doesn’t. We would need to report destroying the animal, preserve the hide and skull, and report why this happened. A big part of this report is what we have done to prevent having to destroy the animal. We’ve covered everything on this handy Bear Aware Checklist, and hopefully this little black bear will decide us, and our dogs, aren’t worth the hassle. I’d like to enjoy him from just a little farther away.