Black Bear spotted in the Nature Preserve: 
Black Bear populations are expanding and they are adapting to human presence.  Every once in a while a bear or two are spotted in the Nature Preserve or on campus.  Bears pass through every Fall and usually Spring as well.  Sometimes they will visit in the summer when there are less people around. 

A female and at least one cub have been observed this past weekend.  One bear was observed down at the pond flipping rocks looking for tubers or invertebrates to eat.  It may have grabbed a fish.  A couple of other students, I’m told, saw a smaller bear running away from the pond.  Most visitors to the preserve will never see a bear and in fact, as much as I’m out there, I’ve never seen one.  I’ve had them around me or run from me, but I’ve never had an “encounter” with a bear out there.  

Bears are one of the main reasons that we don’t allow camping or fires in the preserve.  Some bears learn to associate campfire smell with food.  Many of our community members of Friends of the Nature Preserve probably know bears quite well after they’ve raided bird feeders or their garbage. 

General Rules to avoid bear problems in the Nature Preserve and on Campus:
Do not camp in the Nature Preserve or natural areas
Do not have campfires.
Do not leave food in or around the natural areas, nature preserve, or on Campus.
Dumpsters should be closed after garbage is thrown into them.

What to do if encountering a bear:

Do NOT run or panic.  Leave it alone. The sighting of a bear does not mean it is a threat.  Generally, if the bear is walking by or just looking at you, the best thing to do is back away slowly or sit still and let the bear leave on its own. Do NOT run.  A bear that stands on its hind legs is not being aggressive, it is getting a better look/smell of its surroundings. 

A Threatening Bear:
There is very little chance of having a dangerous encounter with a bear as long as people act normally (as in don't try to pet, feed, or follow a bear) and following the rules of the Natural areas. I write about bear aggression, not from expecting it to happen, but on the very tiny chance that it may happen.
A nervous or threatening bear will be down on all fours deliberately walking towards you, hufffing, smacking its lips, clicking its teeth, shaking its head, stomping/pawing the ground, or swaying side to side, or any combination of these.  Rarely do they "roar" like the movies.  Unfortunately, if a bear is threatening, there is only two definite rules: do not run or climb a tree. Beyond that, there are various strategies (all of which have evidence backing them up.)  Standing your ground, making loud noise, and making yourself look bigger seems to work in most cases.  Sometimes bears will bluff charge which can be scary, but they usually veer off or stop.  If you run, the bluff charge may become an attack. In actual attacks, fighting back has worked and curling up in the fetal position has also worked.  Ideally, we would all know the subtleties of bear body language and know which strategy was best, but same as people, bears are all individuals and each situation is different.   

Best to keep in mind that caution and education are what's needed in living in and around bear habitat and the chances of even encountering a bear are slim to none; the chances of being attacked are almost nonexistent.  Bears almost always run away and most bears won’t even let you get a glimpse of them as they leave as soon as they smell or hear people.  Walking in a normal human fashion alerts bears to our presence. Sometimes, like people, bears can become distracted and less alert, so that they don’t realize a person is around and that’s usually when we encounter them. 

According the animal attack media shows or the way people tell stories, it makes it seem like bears and other animals are coming out of the woods to kill everyone. If that were true, I'd be dead a long time ago. Millions of bear encounters occur each year with one or two deaths per year in the whole country and usually not even that high.  Most bear attacks are very avoidable.  Unfortunately, bear attacks will inevitably increase as bear encounters increase because of bears and people sharing the same land and information about bears just doesn't reach everyone.     For more information on Black Bears go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6960.html   -Dylan