UPDATE Monday, June 11—- Advisory: Black Bear Sightings in New Castle
Friday, June 8, 2012
~ from the New Castle Police Department
Black bear sightings have been reported around Route 100, Gedney Park, Douglas Road area and most recently on Quaker Rd near the Duck Pond. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation advises that bears will only be encouraged to leave the area if the bear creates a public disturbance, acts aggressively towards a human or pet, attempts to enter a home, or is injured and cannot move freely to escape.
If the bear creates any problem New Castle Police will respond and if necessary the NYDEC. Otherwise the black bear is natural to the area and residents should take precautions to avoid contact. Here are some suggestions from NYDEC:
1. DO NOT FEED BEARS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
2. GARBAGE: Clean up areas around garbage cans and do not put garbage
outside over night. Put garbage out only on pickup days.
3. BIRD FEEDERS: Nuisance bear problems are usually a temporary situation in
early spring. Bird feeders do attract bears and are often torn down. Take down
or clean up all bird feeders (including humming bird feeders) for several weeks
after a bear visit.
4. PET FOOD: Feed pets in the house if possible and clean up all left over food.
5. GRILLS: Outdoor grills will attract bears. If you have had a bear problem you
should stop cooking outside on your grill, clean it up, and store it in a bear
proof area for a couple of weeks.
6. COMPOST PILES: Bears are attracted to all types of garbage. Stop adding
refuse to your compost pile and if it is located close to your house you should
move it as far away as possible.
7. OTHER: Bears have an extraordinary sense of smell. If you store pet food, fish
food, or any other items that might appeal to a bear’s sense of smell under an
open shed or in a wooden shed you should remove it to a secure location.
It’s terrible that the bear will only “be encouraged to leave” after one of our children are mauled in Gedney. Too bad the NYDEC wouldn’t be more proactive.
Ok. So I emailed this notice to my cousins in Boulder CO. My family basically found this the most ridiculous notification ever. If a bear is in an area where there is a lot of human habitation they tranquilize it and move it. If the same bear is found more than once, it is put down. They don’t wait to see them get more habituated to human food etc. They also have the common sense to know that bears are dangerous.
It is interesting to me that we “encourage to leave” the rabid racoons and it is being suggested that we stop cooking outside. If there is a bear in the area, don’t we all have a “bear problem”?!
Seems to me there should be a move to move this bear before there is an issue and not afterwards.
And what exactly are the police going to do? Will a pistol be enough to stop an aggressive bear?
Hopefully, we will not have to find out.
What appears to be a gaping hole of information here is: what to do if you actually encounter a black bear. Fine, take in your garbage, whatever. But if you’re walking on a trail at Gedney and come across a bear… Run? Scream? Throw things? Punch it in the nose?
A little practical advice would be more helpful than “Don’t keep garbage outside.” Barn. Horse. Door.
If everyone takes precautions, we should not run into problems. After all, we have been co-habitating with coyotes, raccoons, bats, snakes, snapping turtles, etc for years. After all, we have invaded their habitats, so we have to learn to live with mother nature!
