Bears starting to emerge from dens

Bears in Northwest Montana are emerging from their dens, prompting officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to remind residents and visitors to “Be Bear Aware.”

Wildlife officials already have responded to reports of black bears eating from garbage cans and bird feeders in the Whitefish and Bigfork areas, according to a press release issued Monday by Region 1 of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Reports are also trickling in of bear track observations on the east side of the Flathead Valley, Swan Valley and north near Eureka.

Warmer temperatures are stirring bears awake and beginning the seasonal search for food. Bears den at a variety of elevations during winter, but most grizzly bears den above 6,000 feet. Grizzlies typically stay around the den for approximately a week before moving to areas without snow.

As bears begin foraging for food, the agency is asking residents to remove or secure food attractants such as garbage, bird feeders and bird seed. The press release states the most common human-bear conflicts involve unsecured food attractants.

“Now is a good time to haul garbage to landfills or green-box sites and keep residential garbage bins inside until the morning of pickup service,” the press release states. “Instead of bird feeders, residents should set up bird houses or bird baths, and plant flowers or set up hanging flower baskets for hummingbirds.

Chickens and other livestock should be properly secured with electric fencing or inside a closed shed with a door.”

The agency said homeowners should stay at least 100 yards away from wildlife and try to haze animals off their property with loud noises, and recreationists are urged to follow precautionary steps and tips to prevent conflicts, including carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it, and traveling in groups while making noise.

Bears that gain rewards from human food sources can become food conditioned, which means they lose their natural foraging ability and pose a risk to human safety. Food rewards can also lead wildlife to become habituated to people, posing a risk to human safety. Both food conditioning and habituation often lead to euthanizing, or the “taking,” of the animal for safety reasons. Further, it is illegal to knowingly feed deer, elk, moose, mountain lions, and bears. Putting out salt blocks and deer blocks is illegal unless it is for livestock.

To report grizzly bear activity in the greater Flathead Valley, call FWP bear management specialists at 406-250-1265. To report black bear and mountain lion activity in the greater Flathead Valley, call 406-250-0062. To report bear activity in the Cabinet-Yaak area, call 406-291-1320.