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Six black bears were euthanized in North Carolina after becoming dangerously comfortable around humans and homes
Wildlife officials say human behavior, like unsecured trash and food, is driving bears to associate people with easy meals
Experts warn that expanding development in Asheville is pushing deeper into bear habitats, increasing human-bear encounters
Six black bears were euthanized in western North Carolina over two weeks after wildlife officials said the animals had become dangerously comfortable around humans and increasingly dependent on food found near homes.
According to reporting from The Charlotte Observer, the bears were killed in Buncombe County, primarily in the Black Mountain and Haw Creek areas near Asheville, after a string of escalating incidents that included repeated home break-ins and aggressive behavior around people.
Among the euthanized animals was an adult female bear accused of breaking into the same home multiple times while the homeowners were away, officials said. Wildlife officers were preparing traps after the fourth reported break-in when the situation intensified further.
Stock photo of a black bear mother and cubs in North Carolina
Credit: Rob Limouze/500px/Getty
“We were alerted after the fourth time it broke into the home,” Ashley Hobbs, biologist with the N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission Special Projects division, told the outlet. “One came walking up the driveway and tried to enter my truck and my co-worker’s truck. It then walked right up to us. No fear of humans at all.”
Officials reported that the female bear was euthanized on site. Two newborn bears believed to have learned the same behavior from their mother were also killed, while another younger bear escaped. Officials are still looking for the at-large animal.
Wildlife officials told the outlet that the unusually high number of euthanizations within such a short timeframe reflects a growing issue in the region: bears increasingly associating humans with “easy meals.”
Experts say unsecured garbage, bird feeders, pet food, snacks left inside vehicles and even food odors drifting from kitchens can encourage bears to approach homes and neighborhoods. Over time, officials warn, those repeated rewards can fundamentally change the animals’ behavior.
“This is truly a people problem, not a bear problem. Bears’ behavior is a reflection of human behavior,” Hobbs warned. “If the community is doing everything right, you won’t get many calls of bears breaking into homes.”
According to state officials, necropsies performed on the six euthanized bears reportedly found “human-related waste” in the stomachs of five of the animals.
The region’s expanding development has also contributed to the problem, experts added, as growing neighborhoods continue to push deeper into bear habitat throughout the Asheville area.
“We have [a] perfect storm in the Asheville area: the watershed and all [the] river and streams; this dense human population and the constant building and development in bear habitat,” Hobbs explained. “With more ‘people food’ comes more calories for bears…and the extra human-provided calories are increasing their productivity rate.”
North Carolina is home to an estimated 20,000 black bears, according to state wildlife data, with sightings becoming increasingly common in populated communities.
Officials continue urging residents to remove outdoor food sources and secure trash in hopes of preventing future encounters from escalating.
Read the original article on People