By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
As bear activity continues around town, the importance of securing bear attractants was underscored at a Department of Fish and Game seminar Thursday at Centennial Hall.
Bears toppled trash cans, attacked livestock and damaged property throughout town, a toll that was worse than usual this year, and authorities killed more than a dozen of them found to pose risks to public safety.
Sitkans can help reduce the local bear risk by taking proper care of their garbage, deterring bears and installing electric fences, Fish and Game wildlife biologist Steve Bethune told the in-person audience of about two dozen. About as many people attended the meeting virtually.
“I want to help you foster an understanding of how living with bears can be in our communities and in our neighborhoods, and help you mitigate potential human-bear conflicts and increase our overall knowledge of bear behavior,” Bethune said.
Trouble begins, he said, when bears learn to associate humans with a steady supply of food.
“When we get into trouble is when these hyperphagic bears, totally focused and intent on food and building up as much fat as possible, become food conditioned and habituated to the presence of humans,” he said. “And now you have a public safety problem… Bears come into conflict with people because we give them a reason to. We give them an endless supply of high calorie foods.”
While he can shoot bears that pose a specific public safety hazard, that doesn’t address the core problem, Bethune said.
“It’s unsecured garbage that’s the problem. When I remove a bear, it’s treating the symptom. It’s not treating the root cause… The biggest cause of human-bear conflict is garbage, teaching bears to associate humans with food… Garbage kills bears,” Bethune said.
A city ordinance requires residents to keep garbage inside until collection day, placing trash cans on the curb after 4 a.m. Violators face fines and possible court appearances.
But trash isn’t the only bear attractant around town. Hungry bears in search of easy calories also raid chicken coops, compost bins, deer left out to hang, bird feeders and even the seats of four wheelers, Bethune said.
A total of 14 bears have been killed around Sitka this year, a threefold increase from the typical annual average, Bethune said.
“What’s going on in 2021? Another million dollar question. If we knew that one specific thing we could target it and try to address it... If people didn’t leave their trash out or other attractants for bears, the vast majority of bear calls would go away,” he said.
Alaskans have the right to defend themselves or their property from a bear, he noted, but those kills must be reported to Fish and Game. The bear’s hide, skull and claws also must be salvaged and surrendered to the state.
“We kill bears as a last resort… There’s a lot of caveats that come with DLP. There’s a lot of considerations. It’s not safe for the most part to discharge a firearm in a neighborhood,” he said. “You need to be really careful about that. You’ve got to have proficiency with your firearms, you have to be aware of your shot placement, the correct calibers and bullets for bears. So I don’t recommend everyone shooting bears, but it is a tool available.”
Trying to haze bears by shooting them with low caliber weapons is unacceptable because those bears usually die as a result, he said.
He recommended a better, and nonlethal, tool.
“Electric fences – they work,” Bethune said. “Over and over studies across the country are showing that these are fairly inexpensive and a very effective deterrent against bears. I see this as potentially an addition to our bear ordinance in town. If you’re going to have livestock you should be required to have an electric fence. I’ve already had several chicken coop incidents this fall. Electric fences are one of the most foolproof and powerful defenses available.”
Unlike many other deterrents, he said, electric fences are always functioning, regardless of whether a person is present.
“The good thing about it is it’s a passive deterrent, so it’s working all the time. You don’t have to be there to instill the negative reinforcement on the bear,” he said. “That fence is going to be on all the time and always working for you… It doesn’t cause any permanent damage to the bear or your dog if they accidentally touch it. I highly encourage electric fences and I’m going to be pushing electric fences a lot more in town as an alternative for people to secure their garbage.”
The Fish and Game office in Sitka will offer electric fences to Sitkans for short-term use while the person purchases an electric fence or the components to make one at home, which costs less.
More information on electric fences is available on the ADFG website https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=livingwithbears.bearfences. One video linked on that page includes detailed instructions of setting up a permanent electric fence.
“It’s almost entirely success stories,” he said of electric fences. “Nothing is 100 percent bear proof, there’s always the random story of a bear that overcame an electric fence,” he said. “For example, even here in town we had a homeowner with a chicken coop that had an electric fence around it. The bear was able to use terrain to get on top of the chicken coop, so it defeated the fence in that way. But if you think of it, the fence actually worked, it kept the bear from penetrating the coop that way. But overall they are super effective.”
