Black bears are common in Oregon forests. They are opportunistic omnivores that eat a variety of plants and animals. Human-bear conflicts often arise when bears have access to human food sources like garbage. To prevent conflicts, people should securely store attractants and not feed bears. Wildlife managers may use hazing or removal to deter bears from areas of human activity. Maintaining clean campsites and not feeding bears helps keep both bears and people safe.

1. Behind the scenes with black
bears
Dana Sanchez
Extension Wildlife Specialist
Assoc. Prof. in Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife
Dana.Sanchez@Oregonstate.edu
http://fw.oregonstate.edu/content/extension-wildlife
extension.oregonstate.edu
Jitze Couperus CCL 2007

2. Bears, generally
 Large, stocky, heavy-bodied
 Males 150-300 lbs., up to 617!
 Females 100-264 lbs.
 Short, rounded, erect ears
 Long, curved claws – longer in front
 Massive skulls
 Heterodont teeth – teeth for multiple food types
 5-toed and plantigrade (flat-footed)
 Solitary except in mating season or female with cubs
 Omnivores (eat many types of foods)
 “slow breeders”
Denali N.P. CCLDavid Mitchell 2012 CCL

3. Making tracks…

4. Black bears
 25-30 thousand in Oregon (ODFW estimate)
 Largest carnivores existing in Oregon
 Occur from Cascades west to Pacific Ocean & in Wallowa and Blue
Mountains
 Range of coat colors: black, brown, blonde/cinnamon, or
white/”blue”
 Black & brown can occur in same litter
 Live up to 20 years
 “Opportunistic omnivores”

5. Black bear habitat use
 Usually associated with forested areas
Especially with water nearby
“Early seral” stage
Understory includes shrubs, grasses, forbs (wildflowers)
 In timber managed landscapes, select for clearcuts that have
regrown into shrubland over 7-12 years
 Shift vegetation types to follow food availability & types

6. Black bear activity habits
 Spring-autumn:
Most active in day and during “crepuscular” hours (dawn &
dusk)
 Month before & month after winter dormancy:
Less active, and more nocturnal (night time movement)

7. Home range
 Area traversed to obtain resources needed for daily needs:
Food, water, cover
 And...resources for life cycle: Access to mates, safety for cubs
 Home range sizes expand in “bad” years:
Herbaceous foods unavailable, sparse, or run out early
due to drought
Poor berry years
Poor nut or “mast” years
Other regionally traditional foods fail: e.g., salmon,
fawns/calves, etc.
 Wide range of range sizes estimated 1,300->78,000 acres

8. Home range
 Ranges of males usually 2x larger (or more) than females
 Lots of overlap among ranges, especially around rich localized
food sources
 Examples: salmon streams, garbage dumps, berry patches
 Females with young the least tolerant of other bears in area
 Most conflicts end with displays rather than bear-on-bear contact
 Range size varies inversely with habitat quality (food)
 As conditions get better, range can get smaller

9. Black bear diet:
Tale of the teeth
 Largely herbivorous (plants)
 Spring: grasses, forbs, newborn ungulates
 Summer: berries, fruits, insects, larvae
 Spawning fish, where available
 Fall: Acorns, nuts, berries
 “hyperphagy” to store fat for winter
 Emphasis on high protein & fat
 Crunch times:
 Spring: recovery from dormancy
 Fall: store fat for winter
 Opportunistic:
 Remains of hunted animals
 Human-provided foods
 Crops (plant or animal), garbage,
birdseed, bees, etc….

10. Anybody home?
 Tracks in soft or wet soil
 Scat – varies by what is being
eaten
 Communication via:
 “straddle bushes” – urination on
low vegetation spring-fall
Males esp. May-June
 Marking trees & poles
Rubbing & biting
Hair snared

11. Black bear facts of life
 Mate in June-July
 Females can breed at 2yrs old (30%)
More commonly breed by 3 (80%)
Definitely breeding by 4.5-5.5 years of age (100%)
 Litter size commonly 2 or 3, but can range up to 5
 Typically 2 yrs. between litters, can be up to 4

12. Black bear facts of life
 Fertilized eggs don’t implant until Nov-Dec
 Young born during mother’s dormancy (late Jan-early Feb)
Naked, blind, helpless young .4-.6 lbs.. & <8 inches at birth
Rapid growth: 8.8 lbs. when Mom emerges from den
Up to 70lbs by 9 months of age!
 Young den with mother 1st winter
Generally stick with mother until at least 16-17 months old

13. Denning & winter
 Dens typically under (or in) stumps, logs, hillsides, rock caves
Can use culverts, abandoned buildings, slash piles, &
unsheltered depressions
 Well-shielded by dense vegetation
In cold regions, may orient entrance N or W to allow snow
insulation
North American Bear Center

14. Denning & winter
 Sex and age classes may enter dens at different times
 Example in mild climate of SW Washington:
Adult females: 21 Oct – 5 Nov
Yearlings: 5-20 Nov
Adult males: 15-30 Nov
 However, more overlap in colder climates
 Reverse order of emergence: males, then new 2-yr olds, then
females
 Females with cubs tend to stay close to den for few weeks
 Plant phenology (plant growth timing & trend) likely another
trigger

15. Denning & winter
 Plant phenology (plant growth timing & trend) likely another
trigger to entering dens & dormancy
 Along with availability of other food
 Rapid snowmelt and/or temps > 50F can trigger emergence
 Large/older males may activate & emerge periodically

16. Dormancy
 No feeding
 No urination or defecation
 Body temperature remains near active normal – slight lowering
 Respiration slows (43% of active rate)
 Heart rate slows (66% of active rate)
 Adults shed foot pads

17. Oh, wouldn’t you like to be my…neighbor?
Humans
 Valley bottoms and
associated slopes
 Surround selves with habitat
improvements (gardens,
orchards, small animals, bird
feeders, etc.)
 Produce garbage, garden
waste, downed fruit, &
sometimes feed domestic
animals outdoors
Bears
 Prime bear areas!
 Excellent! Bears also
appreciate these features.
 More benefits for bears!

18. Safely sharing the woods
 Never feed a wild animal
 Store all food & toiletries & garbage in bear-proof containers
 Don’t bury garbage
 Make noise moving through the woods – no surprises!
 Keep dogs leashed
 Carry bear spray & know how to use it
 See cubs? Leave.

19. Safely encountering each other
 Never feed a wild animal
 Give bear a way to escape – Don’t crowd it!
 Stay calm
 Don’t run or make sudden movements
 Back away slowly, avoiding direct eye contact
 IN UNLIKELY attack, Fight back. Shout! Be aggressive! Throw
rocks!
 Report approaches &/or “bluff charges” to ODFW & OSP

20. Conflicts arise when:
 Animals get into & occupy structures
 Animals eat what we don’t want them to:
Ornamentals
Personal food
Production crops (plant or animal)
 Animals cause structural damage or loss
Structures or crops
 Animals pose a physical risk
direct or indirect

21. Basic tactics in wildlife-human conflict
management
• Prevent the problem
• Block
• Deter
• Remove the animal(s)
*Change the game & combine tactics over time–
– Remove the “draw”, increase the perception of risks/costs
to the animal, and make it tough to access

22. Conflict ingredients in sub/urban areas
 Risks to both bears and humans increase with overlap of
human & bear areas
 Food “rewards” from humans: garbage, unlimed/cold
compost, gardens, pet food, bird seed, downed fruit, berries,
urban chickens-rabbits-berries…, bbqs!
 Bears ranging through areas frequented by humans
Increased chances of bear – human encounters
 Potential property damage arising from foraging behavior

23. Habituation can be deadly, damaging, and
dangerous
 “Fed bears are dead bears”
Food conditioning can lead to habituation
 A wild animal is always a wild animal
 Habituation often centers on food
Decreased fear of humans
Increased aggressiveness for food or space
Competition with/elimination of domestic “competitors”
Disease or waste products

24. “Conflict bears”
“a bear that acts on its learnt behaviour to such an
extent that it produces a threat to human safety
and property when seeking human food and/or
garbage”
Ciarniello, L.M., and B. Westworth. 1997. Reducing human-bear conflicts: Solutions through
better management of non-natural foods. Westworth, Brusnyk & Associates

25. Keep Wildlife WILD!

26. Conflict ingredients on agricultural &
forestry lands
 Bears opportunistically feed on crops
Grains, legumes, corn, fruit, bees….
 Bears strip bark from trees to eat cambium and obtain sap
May be associated with poor conditions (bear & food supply)
Seems habitual to some bears/populations
Especially damaging to Douglas fir plantations & reforestation
Can kill up to 30 trees/ac

27. Conflict ingredients on recreational lands
 Bears learn to associate humans, packs, cars, camps, &
garbage with food
 Loose dogs, faced with bear, often “lead” bear back to the
humans!
 Personal care toiletries smell sweet – store like food &
garbage to limit scent & access

28.  Rubber bullets (permit from ODFW)
 Hazing with bear dogs
 Professionals using bangers,
screamers, shell-crackers, propane
cannons
Need a permit from State Fire Marshal,
signed by ODFW biologists.
& Oregon State Fire Marshal at:
(503) 373-1871, x272 or x274
Hazing: Deter with shock and awe

29. Key resources to maintaining good relations
 Manage human behavior
Human conversations spanning
community-scale
View to maintain a conflict-free
status – Step 1: Anticipate and
PREVENT problems!
 Engage with local wildlife
professionals:
District Biologists Steve George &
Corey Heath
541-388-6363
 ODFW’s excellent “Living with Wildlife” page on
black bears
 http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/b
lack_bears.asp

30. Why not just move them as a 1st option?
 Low survival
Intra-specific aggression
Vulnerable to predation
Homing behavior = risks along the way
Likely to starve, do poorly
 Disrupt resident population of natives
 *Moving non-native invasives
 Illegal in many cases
 Disease transmission
 Ethical issue of “moving the problem”