Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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| Park rangers brief residents on facts, foibles of black bears |
Park Rangers Danny and Susan Martin display a bear skull at a Community Watch meeting in Patrick County on Tuesday. The program will be repeated at 7 p.m. tonight at the Fairystone Fire Department. (Bulletin photos by Mike Wray) |
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
By ELIZA WINSTON - Bulletin Staff Writer
More black bears are calling Patrick County home, causing local residents to get nosy about their new neighbors.
Tuesday night at the Patrick Springs Fire Department’s Community Watch meeting, 20 people turned out to get information about the growing population of black bears in the area from Susan and Danny Martin, park rangers at Philpott Lake.
Several residents said they have encountered bears on their properties or on nearby roads. Danny Martin said there are several reasons why more bears have been sighted in the area.
Bears are protected along the parkway, so the population there grows. As it becomes more crowded, bears might move out into Patrick County, he said.
Also, six years ago, bears were not allowed to be hunted in Patrick County, and the population grew. Because of the growth, he said bear season has been restored. It will be Dec. 7-19 for firearms, according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Web site.
Bear attacks are rare, but there are a few things to remember, Susan Martin said. First, bears stand on their hind legs because their strongest sense is that of smell. When they stand, their nose is lifted and higher off the ground and they can identify the animal in front of them by its smell, she said.
In other words, the bear isn’t actually about to attack; it’s just being nosy.
If a sow is with her cubs and sees a person or any other threat, she might use a false charge, Danny Martin said. That happens when a bear runs straight at its target at full speed and then veers off at the last minute.
If that happens, stand still and then slowly back away, he said. Bears are similar to dogs and, like dogs, they have a chase response. If their target runs, they might automatically chase it, and while an Olympic runner can travel up to 25 miles per hour, a bear can run 35 mph.
“So remember,” Martin said, “no matter how fast you are, you can’t outrun a bear.”
It is best to play dead as much as possible with a black bear, although it may drag you a short distance and attempt to bury you in a shallow grave, covered with leaves and sticks, Martin said.
“Black bears like to leave their meat to ripen for a few days,” he said, “but you better get out of there while it’s waiting for you to ripen up!”
The only bears that will continue to pursue people have been given food by someone, Susan Martin said. When people feed a wild bear they create a problem bear, one that will not back away from people because it expects food, she said.
Bears are especially interested in food right before winter, she said, when they are preparing to go into a deep sleep. Sows begin to look for safe spots to sleep in December, she said. Although many people think of a bear’s den as an actual cave, that just isn’t true, she said, adding that many bears make their dens in the roots of fallen trees or other sheltered areas.
Bears go into a deep sleep in December or January, but it is not actually hibernation, she said. Their bodies slow down while they sleep but unlike animals in true hibernation, she said they still are able to wake up to give birth and care for their young.
Bears stay with their mothers for 17 months before leaving to go out on their own, Danny Martin said. They usually leave home in late summer, and that is when juvenile bears get into trouble, he said.
For instance, he told of a juvenile bear in Franklin County that managed to walk into the hospital through the motion-detecting doors and walked all the way down the hall and into an office. The bear wasn’t trying to cause trouble, he said; it just didn’t know where it was.
Residents asked about their rights as property owners when a bear is caught trespassing. If a bear damages the property, the owner can call the game warden through the sheriff’s office and the warden will set a trap to remove the bear, Martin said.
However, if a bear attacks livestock, people or pets, a person has a right to protect himself, he said.
Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith said Tuesday’s meeting had the best turn out for a Community Watch meeting in two years. The Martins will repeat the program at 7 p.m. today at the Fairystone/Pole Bridge Road Community Watch meeting at the Fairystone Fire Department. |
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