27/06/2024
Often over the years of Pet Sitting I've come across dealing with animals and bears during Bear Season rather it be a Mom and her Cubs or many Yearlings who are trying to learn to live on their own.. Do I like dealing with this? NO, Its scary!! I love all animals but Bears have a special place in my heart- they are a wild animal, not a pet to feed or try to hug and most issues with them no matter if its here or in TN its always Human Fault that cost them their lives as they become accustomed to their surroundings we as people cause... This can be prevented with Bear Wise Education and less Stupidity of People. Please read this below and continue to share with all your friends and family!!
A BearWise Banter Update
Time and time again, our wildlife professional partners have provided cost-effective, proactive management steps that people (including businesses) in bear country can take to keep bears and humans safe. Despite this, the internet is littered with viral videos of bears accessing unsecured trash and food items in neighborhood communities and business establishments. Many of these videos also include people putting themselves, others and even children directly in harm’s way trying to get a “viral” close up photo or video of the bear or businesses who apparently believe that profiting from tourists who want to see a bear on their vacation is more important than taking the necessary steps to protect human (and bear) lives. If human safety isn’t enough, these encounters typically result in the bear being killed, either intentionally or accidentally.
So, we have to ask, “Would you Kill to See a Bear?” because your close encounter will almost certainly cost the bear its life.
Some of the most common comments we have seen circulating around these videos have been about relocating the bear to a different location. Wildlife professionals, in and outside of Tennessee, have tried this repeatedly. But when bears are relocated, even miles away, they often return to their previous location or they engage in the same type of conflict behavior that got them relocated in the first place. Where do you put a 100lb (or larger) wild black bear that thinks its food comes from garbage bins and bird feeders? Worse yet, where do you put 10, 20, ... 40 of them?
We want to be clear that wildlife professionals do not seek out a career in wildlife to euthanize animals. In fact, they dedicate their entire careers to helping wild animals thrive. In human-bear conflict instances, like the ones so often shared on the internet, the bear was killed long before wildlife officials ever set the trap. Instance by instance, the bear is killed by tourists, residents and businesses who believe that a close encounter with a wild bear is worth the risk of harm to themselves and others, and even the bear's life. Whatever the motivation, whether it be the thrill of going viral or the marketing appeal of potentially seeing a bear when you visit bear country, the bear, and all of us who care about safety in bear country lose.
The root of this problem is people. It always has been. And we, as people, must work together to fix it. So, what can you do to help? Educate yourself. Share our words. Push for real, local change. Store your trash and garbage. Tell your friends, neighbors and family about BearWise.org and patronize businesses and rental companies that are following best BearWise practices. Join us in preventing these situations from happening over and over again. We can’t do it alone.