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Thursday, September 1, 2005

Program Raising Bear Awareness

By Stacey Boyne
Mountain View Telegraph
    A young bear that caused about $500 in damage to a Paa-Ko property is an example of why Sandia Mountain BearWatch continues educating the public about attracting bears even when the animals' natural food sources are plentiful.
    New Mexico Department of Game and Fish officials don't expect an increase in problem bears entering populated areas during the pre-hibernation months due to the abundance of natural food supplies this year.
    However, when several 200-pound beehives with thousands of honeybees are easily accessible, a bear can still be tempted into populated areas even in a good food year.
    On Aug. 25, Game and Fish warden Gabe Chavez was called to a home in Paa-Ko, where a new resident's beehives had been destroyed by a young bear, BearWatch founder Jan Hayes said in a phone interview. Hayes said the bear is believed to be in only its second summer.
    "This is why SMBW was started," Hayes said. "A neighbor (called Game and Fish to trap a bear) for getting into their beehives. Honey is a natural food source for bears; they shouldn't be trapped for that. Residents in the East Mountains shouldn't have beehives unless they're willing to protect them or have the expectation that the hives might get hit by a bear."
    Robert Livingston, NMG&F assistant chief for the northwest area, agrees that protecting beehives is effective in deterring curious bears.
    "This is the first beehive call we've had in several years," he said. "In the past, when I was a game warden, there were lots of people out here with beehives and there was a bear problem. We educated people about putting a hotwire around the beehives and it was very successful in decreasing the bear activity."
    Game and Fish, however, can't demand that this resident put up an electric fence within a certain time frame, Livingston said— although he said she did agree to either put up a fence or remove the hives from the property.
    "People have different resources and funds. For some people it may only take a day to take action, for others it could take weeks," Livingston said.
   
Defining 'nuisance'
    Livingston said warden Chavez felt setting a trap for the bear was appropriate under the state's depredation law.
    "The resident's husband was out of town and she has a small 4-year-old child whose safety was a concern," Livingston said. "NMG&F's primary concern is public safety and enforcement of the law, so Chavez set the trap."
    Under the depredation law, if an animal presents a threat to human life or property, a resident can kill the animal. The law also calls for citing people for creating a nuisance, but according to Livingston there's no definition of what is a nuisance.
    "When a person spends a lot of money on a project or source of income like a beehive, I can't flag that and say that's a nuisance, even if they live in bear country," Livingston said.
    That's why education and information by organizations like BearWatch is so important, he added.
    "This resident was willing to do something about their beehives, and in the meantime, because they were concerned about their safety, we'd rather see if we could trap it and relocate it," Livingston said.
    Relocating a bear, however, doesn't always ensure its survival.
    One of BearWatch's main concerns is an alarming decline in bear numbers in both the Sandia and Manzano mountains.
    "This is a young bear," Hayes said. "If it is removed and taken somewhere new, in another bear's territory it is likely to become another bear's meal."
    Livingston said he was willing to work with BearWatch on the relocation of this particular bear. If the bear is eventually trapped, it could stay in the Sandias depending on its size, age, sex and temperament, he said.
    But first it has to be caught. Although the trap was set and continually baited with fruit, the bear never returned to the property and the trap was removed Monday, Livingston said.
    "The resident did remove the beehive from its original location, and we didn't see any bear activity or have any complaints over the past three days, so we removed the trap," he said.
   
Safety in mind
    Jim Buhaug, a neighbor to the beehive owner and a member of BearWatch, said the trap may have not lured its intended resident, but it certainly attracted wildlife.
    "Ever since they put the trap out there have been a lot of coyotes coming around the neighborhood." Buhaug said Monday. "They're eating the fruit and they 'yip' all night long."
    Besides noise, however, Livingston said coyotes are not a concern for Game and Fish.
    "Coyotes live all over out here," he said. "They generally don't run in packs like wolves and in my 16-plus years of experience I've never known them to cause a problem. I don't believe coyotes eating fruit at the trap would stimulate a coyote to then be attracted to a child."
    Although Livingston says September is harvest month for bears— when all their natural food sources will be ripe and ready to eat before hibernation— Sandia Mountain BearWatch members are still working to inform residents about co-existing with bears.
    "We have a packet with guidelines on what to do with garbage, birdfeeders and beehives when moving into an area that is habituated by bears," said SMBW member Lynn Buhaug. "Although all new residents receive these packets, we took additional information and brochures to this new resident once we learned about what was happening with this little bear."
    Livingston said BearWatch "has done a great job of helping us by educating the public about bear awareness.
    "If this season goes smooth, next spring will be the time to do another bear education campaign," he said. "When we do that type of educational outreach, bear problems in the East Mountains are very small."