A fed bear is a dead bear and readily available human food and bears are a deadly combination. I have experienced it many times. Last summer while camped in bear country in the West my neighbor came by in his truck, ready to go back to Kansas. “We have a problem bear”, he exclaimed from the safety of his vehicle. I did not say anything, since I know that there is no such thing as a “problem bear” unless they are created to appear that way by humans leaving food out or for reasons that we will spell out in our bear safety video, entitled:
“Messages from the Animals-Bear Necessities”.
He proceeded to tell me that said bear had gotten into his cooler and helped himself to the donuts that were on top. Now, sugar is like a drug to any animal and once exposed to it, they keep coming back for more.
Even we humans are not immune to its power over us. I remember my neighbor’s one-year old taking a chocolate gold coin that was laying around during a Hanukah game, putting it into her mouth and sucking on it to retrieve the chocolate. I will never forget the look on her face when her tongue made contact with this new and exciting “food”. Her face lit up and she immediately grabbed all of the remaining edible coins from the game and that was that.
That story came to my mind as I was listening to the visitor from Kansas. “And how did the bear get into the locked cab of your truck?” I asked him kindly. There is no point in making anybody feel guilty after the fact. He kind of avoided looking at me at this point and admitted that the cooler had been left out unsecured because his domestic cat whom he traveled with lived in it and there was no room for the cat and the cooler together. “But I have a gun and nothing happened to me.” Were his last words. He then proceeded to step on the gas and was not seen or heard of again.
I immediately made the rounds and urged the other campers to keep a tight ship, there was dog food everywhere, human food scattered, open coolers and trash. It was my last night at this particular camp and I always lock the door of my car because some bears have been known to open car doors. I woke up in the middle of the night to the bear growling next to my tent, frustrated that he could not get into my car and that there was not one crumb around in the vicinity of a quarter mile. The next morning brought the evidence of his presence in the form of bear tracks all over my car doors.
I communicate with ALL LIFE FORMS but this one was a tough one. I could not get through to him, he was a male which I learned from tracking him. The sugar rush from the day before was still in his memory. I told him that it was summer and that the food provided for him at this time by nature was super nutritious. But to no avail. A few weeks later he had come into contact with another camper and that was that.
We are currently working on a video to keep bears safe from us and us from them. Please help us release it next year far and wide. Any monetary offering helps, any benevolent thought towards them is appreciated. Any fear of them dealt with in a benevolent and educated way is the ultimate gift to them. Any sovereignty granted them is the ultimate call for them to keep the earth healthy and clean. Any sliver of their former habitat undeveloped helps them thrive. Thank you! Tak! Danke! Merci! Gracias! Grazie!
