<p>Here we go again with a bear and people confrontation in urban New Jersey. A bear as “treed” and tranquilized yesterday less than three miles from my home. The is the second such incident in the urban core, and the latest of many that have occurred in both the cities and suburbs of NJ. What’s the solution? The state authorized bear hunts last year but then rescinded the decision. I’m not comfortable with idea of bear hunts mostly because it’s the public’s fault for allowing so much of wild NJ to be built up and suburbanized. Then again, lately these bears seem to be making their way from the woods into neighborhoods. Maybe they are commuting to Manhattan to join the coyotes we’ve seen in Central Park and the subways.</p>
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<p>While I agree wholeheartedly with the root cause of the problem, Malthus accurately painted this picture a long time ago. Hunting or otherwise eradicating or removing the population until manageable levels are reached is the only solution. </p>
<p>A comprehensive bear management program could then be put in place to moinitor and control populations. </p>
<p>Or we could give New Jersey back to the bears . Hmmmmm.</p>
<p>Tony Soprano with a shotgun and a Cuban cigar sitting on a lawn chair can handle any dirty Jersey bear problem! I think they come back in March for the last 10 shows or so. Man they make me wait a long time!</p>
<p>Well I don’t know about NJ, but I do know that the NYS Dept Environmental Conservation has worked very hard to “reintroduce” bears into the southern tier of NYS. Now, there is quite a thriving bear population there (and a hunting season too). They still move “problem” bears into that area. </p>
<p>I suppose it’s just a matter of time until people start grumbling, although black bears are pretty harmless.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t really trust DEC with “managing” wildlife populations. Just look at what happened to the deer population. They managed it at extremely high levels and now they’ve all but ruined our forests. Meanwhile, they continue seasons on certain birds that are clearly losing popluation substantially (snipe, woodcock, grouse, rails and some of the duck species).</p>
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<p>Only by comparison to grizzlies… Black bears are still large, omnivirous animals that have been known to attack and kill humans. You have a greater chance of being killed by lightning than a black bear, but it still pays to be aware and alert. Do NOT think of them as harmless, any more than a carpenter treats a circular saw as harmless. Both can do a lot of damage.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification, WashDad. That earlier comment about harmless black bears struck me as a bit optimistic.</p>
<p>Interesting.</p>
<p>We now have a pair of coyotes in Grosse Pointe, an eastern suburb of Detroit.</p>
<p>How did they get here? Across Lake St. Clair from Canada, where it tends to be more rural, once off the lakeshore? Or on the ground through the City of Detroit?</p>
<p>The good thing about coyotes is that they rarely attack adults, and rarely attack small children. The last fatality from a coyote attack was an unattended small child nearly 30 years ago. Dogs kill between 15 and 20 people a year in the US. </p>
<p>We have both coyotes and bobcats around here. What we do not have is outdoor house cats…</p>
<p>However, coyotes do attack poodles. A small poodle was killed by the pair, in a very bloody fashion. The pair has taken up residence in the wooded portion of a local golf course.</p>
<p>People are concerned about their small children playing in their yards adjacent to the golf coures, i.e. no fences. Of course, with 6-9 inches of snow expected tonight there won’t be many children playing outside - until the snow stops.</p>
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<p>I’d be concerned too, although statistically parents have a lot more to be worried about from neighborhood dogs and cars than they do about the coyotes. We have <em>lots</em> of coyotes around here. There are plenty of reports of missing cats and a few small dogs, but the large dogs aren’t bothered and I haven’t heard of any threats, bites, or attacks on people of any size.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the kids unless they dress up like poodles.</p>
<p>Only by comparison to grizzlies… Black bears are still large, omnivirous animals that have been known to attack and kill humans. You have a greater chance of being killed by lightning than a black bear, but it still pays to be aware and alert</p>
<p>52 deaths in 100 years in North America, I think the statistic is. Dogs killed 32 people in 2003. Run for the hills! …oh wait, there are bears there. ;)</p>
<p>On second thought, beware of the poodles! :eek:</p>
<p>Our schools, here in the suburbanized eastside of Seattle, have drills and procedures for a wide variety of occasions. We’re all familiar with fire drills, and then there are earthquake drills. Then there are procedures for “madman with a gun,” “cougar on the playground,” and “bear sighting.” </p>
<p>A bear wandered through our neighborhood recently. We have a bobcat that we watch for. I routinely see coyotes, deer, possums, raccoons, eagles, and osprey. Like WashDad, outdoor cats rapidly go missing in our neighborhood. And I don’t let the dogs out alone, even though they’re bigger and healthier than the coyotes.</p>
<p>I’m guessing dmd is practically a neighbor of mine. I’m thinking of getting some leftover land mines and planting them in my flower beds to deter the deer…</p>
<p>Dmd: Does Novelty Hill Road mean anything to you?</p>
<p>Poor thing; it was hungry. I wonder why it wasn’t hibernating? Maybe they can get one of the so-called animal psychics to explain that they should be sleeping. ;)</p>
<p>The dopey bear hunts are out in the very rural part of west NJ. The bear was down the street from me too…in suburbia. We have a lovely “reservation” full of soon-to-starve deer and now it looks like a bear or two. The problem is the bears being killed in a hunt aren’t the ones near us, and having grown up in a rural school-closes-for-the-first-day-of-deer-season-I do not want “hunters” up there a few hundred feet from schools and houses.
hmmm. maybe we could draft the National Guard, bring them back from Iraq to save us from the bears.
I have TONS of Stop the Bear Hunt, Save the Deer emails if anyone is interested in the everlasting issue. We coddle Geese eggs too.</p>
<p>Re posts 5 and 6:
You can count on one hand the number of deaths caused by black bears in the USA per year. If you’re stupid - well obviously they can be dangerous! But if you give them a little (OK, a lot) of respect they are no trouble. I have lots of exerience with black bears. We spend a lot of time camping and hiking in the adirondacks and we have a cabin in the southern tier.</p>
<p>Weenie, I’ll trade y’all my cougar who eats my “crop” once every three years for one of y’all’s bears. At least it will be a different way to lose money. ;)</p>
<p>oldinJersey, you’re lucky to have starving deer-at least the unwanted fauna may disappear on their own. In Omaha, Ne the deer aren’t starving, they’re thriving on middle of the city lawns & gardens…and routinely causing major pile-ups and even deaths on the freeways because the darn things refuse to cross at the designated crosswalks & overpasses. Unfortunately, the naturalists tell us the reason there’s so many in the urban areas is because there are no hunters and ample food supplies…perfect breeding & feeding. Not suggesting they should or even could be safely hunted down to manageable levels, but it is a problem. Eastern Nebraska has also had a rash of mountain lions…yep, MOUNTAIN lions. As anyone who has ever taken a cross-country I-80 road trip will attest, Nebraska is hundreds of very flat miles across–not even a big hill in sight, and definitely no mountains until Colorado on far end of state. The experts say adult male lions will travel as much as 100 miles a day, and continue traveling, in search of a mate…I guess that means there passing through on the way to “hot” female big cats in Iowa, maybe?</p>