Be Bear Wise

NEVER Feed or Approach Bears

SECURE Food, Garbage, and Recycling

REMOVE Bird Feeders when Bears are Active

NEVER Leave Pet Food Outdoors

ALERT Neighbors to Bear Activity

CLEAN and Store Grills

BEARS ARE BIG AND CUTE, BUT THEY ARE ALSO: as intelligant as primates; semi-arboreal – trees are their safe space; protective of their cubs; opportunistic feeders; typically shy and evasive; and naturally active around dawn & dusk“crepuscular”.

They can smell 2,000X times greater than a human; hear a camera shutter 50 yards away; and out-run, out-swim, & outclimb a human.

A bears’ intelligence only lends to their danger. Bears can reason, remember, and solve problems; open car and home doors; crawl through open windows; balance on high tree limbs and deck railings; see in color as well as humans; and travel 5 to 15 miles per day.

So, here are some tips and tricks from the Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears to reduce Human-Bear conflict.

OUTDOOR SAFETY

• DO NOT APPROACH ME!

• DO NOT surprise me!

• NEVER run from me!

• Leave me an escape route!

• Quietly move away and leave the area and don’t turn your back!

• Hike in groups and stay together!

• Keep kids within site!

• Carry Bear Spray and know how to use it!

DOGS ARE MY NATURAL ENEMY AND SCARE ME!

• DO NOT let dogs chase or interact with me!

• If you encounter me while with your dog, back away and leave!

• Keep dogs on a leash or leave them at home! Watch for signs of me while you hike!

• Look for my footprints, scat, overturned rocks, shredded rotted logs, fresh claw marks up the side of the trees, dug out insect nests, or where I rubbed my back and butt and left fur!

THIS

NOT THIS

IF YOU SEE ME...

• I DO NOT want to be held, handled, or hugged!

• DO NOT get between me or near me and my cubs!

YOU’RE TOO CLOSE IF...

• I stop feeding, change my direction of travel, or begin watching you!

• I huff, blow, swat the ground, slap at vegation, moan, yawn, salivate, or bluff charge. I am telling you YOU’RE TOO CLOSE TO ME, BACK OFF!

TAKE NOTE...

• If I stand up on my hind legs, I am trying to better see, hear, and smell to identify what you are. I am not being aggressive.

• ALL food and beverages, including canned food, garbage, pet food, candy, crumbs in car seats, and scented toiletries are an attractant to me.

• Keep your windows and doors locked in both your car and home.

• Store all livestock/pet feed and other attractants inside a sturdy building. Your screened-in porch is not secure from me!