BEND, Ore. — Bear sightings in residential areas are skyrocketing this fall, with a bear cub spotted wandering through a southwest Bend neighborhood earlier this week just the latest example, as wildlife officials say a weak berry crop is pushing hungry bears into town.
Andrew Walch, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Bend office, said this is the most calls about bears he’s ever received. Walch said he’s taken more than a dozen reports of bears close to homes in residential areas in La Pine, Bend and Tumalo in the past month.
“This time of year, bears really need calories. Late summer, fall, they are entering something called hyperphagia where they are just eating constantly, putting on pounds for the winter. Usually it’s berries this time of year. It’s high calorie, easy to find but this year they aren’t there. That’s probably bringing more of them into town than normal,” Walch said.
Problems can develop when bears, even cute little cubs, begin associating homes with easy meals. Walch cautions that once bears get accustomed to raiding garbage cans, eating bird seed and pet food left outside, they can get destructive.
“After a bear associates residential homes with finding food, getting a meal, they can do damage. Occasionally they’ll break into outbuildings or try to get into a car. They really use their nose. They are following the scent of food or grease from a barbecue or honey in a beehive. Those sorts of things they are really targeting,” Walch said.
It’s not just Central Oregon. Video posted to social media showed a bear walking on a fence in Ashland, where the bear invasion problems are bad this year. In another case, a chicken coop was ripped apart by bears looking for things to eat, including the chickens.
“Don’t approach. Keep your dogs on leash. Keep your animals inside if you can,” Bend Police communications manager Sheila Miller said. “Don’t leave dog food out. Don’t leave garbage cans out full of garbage if you can avoid that. All of those things that could turn this into a nuisance. We want to encourage this bear to get back to wild as opposed to in neighborhoods.”
If you encounter a bear, wildlife officials recommend making noise by shouting or clapping your hands while calmly backing away, giving the bear a way to escape.
ODFW has not removed or relocated any bears in Central Oregon so far, but it is aware that a couple of homeowners have taken action to protect their property, which is legal to do.
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