Many backcountry campsites, shelters and trails in the Great Smoky Mountains have had bear warnings posted for several months now. However, in recent weeks, the number of warnings has been on the rise again.
Right now there are 5 backcountry campsites and shelters that are closed due to
bear activity, plus 18 that have posted warnings. Additionally, there are six trails that have warnings as well.
This information probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most people as the spike in bear activity has been well documented over the last several months.
Bear populations have grown to record numbers across the Southern Appalachians. Wildlife biologists from the Southern Appalachian Bear Study Group agree that this year's black bear population throughout the region appears to be the
highest on record.
Bait station surveys in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are reporting more sightings of bears this year than at any time since record keeping began in 1981. There are now
estimates of nearly two thousand bears living in the park.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency biologist David Brandenburg was quoted in a recent article as saying; “We have more bears in Tennessee than we have had in the last 150 years".
Mike Carraway, a wildlife biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said that bear populations have grown to a record 10,000 in the mountains of western North Carolina this year.
The growth in bear populations in recent years has been driven by an abundance of acorns, grapes and other food sources.
What’s surprising, at least to me, is the number of bear-human conflict reports this year. After hearing numerous reports earlier in the spring and summer about the population explosion in bears over the last two winters, in addition to all of campsite warnings, I was expecting to see a spike in conflicts. Fortunately that hasn’t materialized yet.
That’s not to say it’s been a quiet summer and fall.
Park wildlife managers in the Smoky Mountains have handled 23 nuisance bears over the summer - a little on the high side, but no record, by any means.
Back in August rangers on the Blue Ridge Parkway were forced to
euthanize a bear that kept foraging for picnic food and garbage at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area. Rangers were forced to close the popular area for several weeks as they tried to get the bears to move on.
Earlier this week
a llama on a Buncombe County farm in North Carolina had to be euthanized after being mauled by a bear.
As a forewarning, TWRA biologist David Brandenburg said that although the food supply is very strong right now, the region is due for a shortage.
"We usually have a shortage cycle that happens every five to ten years. Right now it has been 12 years since we had a shortage in 1997."
Brandenburg added, "When a shortage happens, bears will roam as far as they need to in search of food, a lot of times into the lower elevations. Then we will see a real spike in the harvest numbers as there are more conflicts with humans."
Speaking of bears, check out this photo from Colorado:
This week a couple from Florissant, Colorado awoke to what they thought was a thief trying to steal their car, and immediately called the police. Much to their surprise, the police discovered the car thief was actually a young black bear that somehow managed to lock himself inside. After taking photos for evidence, the police opened the door and the unharmed bear quickly ran away. The interior of the car, on the other hand, suffered extensive damage.
Jeff
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