Black bears may be smaller and less aggressive than their grizzly cousins, but as they’ve multiplied, human-bear clashes have risen:
Black bears, which can top 350 pounds, were hunted with vigor for centuries. But with their populations near collapse, states began imposing hunting limits or bans in the 1970s.
Recovery has been slow—bears reproduce just every two to three years—but pronounced. Today there are an estimated 3,000 black bears roaming Florida, up from just 300 in the mid-1970s, said David Telesco, who manages bear conservation in the state. Between 300 and 400 black bears live in Nevada, and biologists say the population is growing 16% a year.
“There are now bears in areas of the country where there haven’t been bears since the colonial days,” said Rick Winslow, a carnivore biologist with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
Black bears preparing for winter eat 20,000 calories per day, so they’re always looking for food:
In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection tallied 2,400 bear incidents last year, up from 1,800 in 2009. The reports ranged from a bear strolling through a college campus to home invasion. “Literally, people would go out to get the groceries from their car, leave the screen door open, and come back to find a bear in their home,” said Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the department.
In New Mexico, the Department of Game and Fish has killed more than 230 bears this year that were disturbing people, pets or property, up from 86 last year and 24 the year before.
In Nevada, where black bears have taken to raiding garbage bins around Lake Tahoe, the legislature authorized the state’s first-ever bear hunt this year, to the dismay of antihunting activists.
The antihunting activists don’t seem to realize that a bear population growing at 16% a year can’t just be left alone.
“The antihunting activists don’t seem to realize that a bear population growing at 16% a year can’t just be left alone.”
I’m told the same thing is going on in Africa with elephants. Ironically, one of the most effective ways to prevent the destruction of the elephants’ habitat by farmers is the lucrative safari system.