First Monday for May
Dan Adkins, (859) 257-1754
Kentucky’s Black-bear Population Appears on the Rise – and That’s Good
A quarter-century ago, no black bear claimed Kentucky as its home. The animal had been eliminated from the state’s ecology in the 1850s.
But that’s no longer the case.
"Since the late 1990s, it’s been apparent female black bears were raising cubs. We started seeing signs of their activity in the area of Pine Mountain, Black Mountain and Cumberland Mountain," said Dave Maehr, professor of conservation biology at the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry.
Wildlife experts are not sure how many black bears are in the state, but they are found mainly in a range stretching from Middlesboro to Whitesburg.
They may be expanding beyond that area.
"We’ve had reports of male black bears in Boone County and the greater Louisville area. We’ve had reports around Danville, but I’m not convinced about those. We’ve heard of black bears being seen in McCreary County," Maehr said.
"A black bear was hit on I-64 between Winchester and Mount Sterling," Maehr said.
These sightings "reflect a landscape with good habitat on it. Black bears are finding enough food, enough cover and safe places for females to give birth to their cubs," Maehr said.
He hastened to assuage concerns about potential dangers.
"There’s never been a report of a black bear attack on people in Kentucky. That’s in the history of Kentucky," Maehr said.
Black bears were killed off and driven out of Kentucky in the years up to 1850 because they were regarded as competition for food for livestock, as well as a danger to livestock, he said.
That hostile environment no longer exists, and the bears appear to have started moving into Kentucky, primarily from West Virginia.
Maehr said the bears may face difficult years in 2007 and 2008. One of their prime foods will be in short supply.
"The recent weeklong freeze we had in April killed most of the flowers on oak trees. This means there won’t be white-oak acorns for the bears to eat this fall," he said.
Fortunately, red oaks will still produce some acorns, which take two years to mature on those species. But the harvest will not be as plentiful.
"We’ll probably see lower litter sizes and more nuisance activity as the bears scrounge for food," Maehr said.
What should people do if they spot a black bear?
"My first piece of advice is, enjoy it," Maehr said.
"If it’s a close encounter, try to appear large but not threatening. If an area has been known as bear habitat, hike in pairs."
Black bears don’t represent a real danger to people. "They don’t generally regard people as food, so they’re not an active predator," he said.
But a black bear foraging through residential garbage can create a threatening condition – for the bear.
"There’s a saying, a fed bear is a dead bear, and it’s true. If a bear’s finding food around residences, it won’t be long before it gets killed," Maehr said.
"Some homeowners may need to figure out a way to handle their garbage to keep bears out.” They also should feed pets indoors, and store pet food away from where bears may find it.
Female black bears may become a threat if a person comes between the adult bear and her cubs, he noted.
"If you encounter a bear cub, get away. That’s the one situation that a female is likely to become aggressive in," Maehr said.
Even then, the female and her cubs generally move off together without confronting the person.
Maehr provides more details about his black-bear research on his home page on the UK College of Agriculture’s Web site. The page’s address is www.ca.uky.edu/forestry/maehrbearky.php.
He said he’s seeing people acting more accepting of black bears, a phenomenon he credits to greater environmental and wildlife awareness. That can be good, both for the bears and for people.
"It’s going to require more and more tolerance as bears move farther and farther to the west in Kentucky," Maehr said.
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