Residents asked to be bear aware

With bears energing from their dens, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear management specialists warn residents about cleaning up attractants.

April 1 is their target date for bringing in winter bird feeders and seed, cleaning yards, and collecting and disposing of bear attractants that have accumulated over the winter.

Jamie Jonkel said hungry bears just emerging from hibernation are powerfully attracted by livestock carcasses, frozen and thawing garbage stored in trailers for the winter, grain and feed, and pet food left outdoors.

“Cleaning up potential food attractants around residences and ranches very early in the spring is the single most important step in spring,” he said.

Tim Manley urges residents to be vigilant about the April 1 clean up date.

“The earlier in April residents clean up around their homes and secure food attractants, the better results they will have,” he said. “A deep mountain snowpack or early spring snowfall can push hungry bears coming out of hibernation into the valley bottoms in search of nourishment.”

Manley is hoping to avoid the high level of bear management activity required in 2011. Last year, 32 individual grizzly bears were captured a total of 47 times for management reasons in Northwest Montana.

“The average number of grizzly bear captures is 17 a year,” he said.