Look out for bears in popular Western North Carolina hiking spots, Forest Service warns
Campers and hikers in the mountains of North Carolina might find an unexpected guest at a few popular tourist spots this time of year, according to park rangers.
Black bears are active in parts of Pisgah National Forest that are frequented by visitors during the summer months — including the North Mills River campground, the Bent Creek Experimental Forest and Black Balsam, the U.S. National Forest Service warned in a news release Friday.
“On the Grandfather Ranger District, bears have also been active at Table Rock and the Old Fort Picnic Area,” the release states.
Justin McVey, mountain region wildlife biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, told the Asheville Citizen Times black bears “have been really active this year, starting a little sooner than normal.”
The reason for that could be food motivated, he said.
“It very well could be this time of the year where the berries haven’t really popped out yet, and so the bears are hungry,” McVey told the Citizen Times. “But it also very well could be just bears that over time have been conditioned to rely on sources of food provided by people, whether that’s garbage or bird seed or intentional feeding.”
The coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and recreation areas across North Carolina starting in early late March, including hiking trails and campgrounds near Asheville.
Camping spots and several roads and trails in Pisgah National Forest were closed starting April 13 — leaving much of the wildlife without human contact. The shutdown also coincided with the start of black bears’ busy season.
According to the National Park Service, black bears are most active in the early morning and late evenings during the spring and summer. Female bears and their cubs are also likely to “emerge from their winter dens in late March or early April,” the park service says.
Pisgah National Forest started peeling back some restrictions in mid-May, The Transylvania Times reported, though some roads and trails remain closed, according to the park service’s website.
Still, the marked increase in human activity can indicate an easy food source for bears.
A black bear’s “keen sense of smell” will lead it straight to human food and garbage left behind at campgrounds and picnic areas or along the trails, according the park service. But feeding the bears or allowing them to munch on that garbage can be dangerous, particularly because it can desensitize them to humans, pose a risk to the public safety and often cause the bears to live shorter lives, rangers say.
Black bears are between 5 and 6 feet tall and can weigh up to 600 pounds, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. That’s roughly two-thirds the weight of a horse and only half as big as their distant cousins, the grizzly and polar bears.
They rarely attack humans — but those attacks can be fatal, the forest service said Friday.
How to avoid bear encounters
The Forest Service recommends keeping dogs on a leash in areas where bears have been sighted. All food should be properly stored and other scented items placed in a bear-proof container of left in cars.
Shining Rock and Black Balsam require visitors to use bear-proof canisters given the “large number of bear sightings and encounters in the past few years,” the Forest Service said in Friday’s news release. Bear-proof canisters are made of “solid, non-pliable material” and are commercially manufactured specifically to keep bears out.
“Many toiletries that seem to have little to no odor can still attract bears” — such as toothpaste, according to the Forest Service.
All food and garbage should be also cleaned up and removed from campsites, and food should never be left unattended, the Forest Service said in Friday’s release.
When a bear is spotted, the Forest Service recommends packing up belongings and vacating the area.
“If a bear approaches, move away slowly; do not run,” the release states. “Get into a vehicle or a secure building.”
Visitors can also try to scare the bear off by shouting loudly, banging pots and pans together or throwing objects such as rocks or sticks at it, according to the Forest Service.
“If you are attacked by a black bear, try to fight back using any object available.,” the release states. “Act aggressively and intimidate the bear by yelling and waving your arms. Playing dead is not appropriate.”
