Fall is here and black bears are building their fat reserves, known as hyperphagia. During this fall feeding frenzy, bears eat as much as they can to increase fat stores to a level required for winter months.
In the fall, an adult bear consumes 20,000 to 24,000 calories a day, gaining many pounds daily. To rapidly increase their fat stores, wild bears forage nearly around the clock. In addition, they may travel outside their home range to find food. Their increased need for food can lead bears to seek easy, calorie-dense meals. In residential areas that often means improperly stored garbage and recycling.
To keep bears wild as they bulk up for the winter, it’s important for residents to use bear-resistant garbage carts and bear boxes; remove bird feeders; store pet food inside and clean outdoor grills regularly. Bears follow their noses and proper disposal methods prevent bears from accessing human sources of food.
The national BearWise program offers the following tips to reduce the chances a hungry bear finds trash.
- If garbage pickup is once or twice a week, put trash cans and recycling containers on the curb the morning of pickup, never the night before.
- Take time to rinse out and clean cans, bottles and containers, including carry-out containers and pizza boxes so that odors don’t attract bears.
- If possible, put garbage disposal to work. More down the drain means less at the curb.
- Keep a bag in the freezer for anything that might smell before pick up. Add it to the trash the morning of pickup.
- If the garbage container isn’t bear-resistant, keep it inside a building until the morning of pickup. If the garbage can is bear-resistant, keep it closed and latched.
In California, contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (916) 358-2917 or visit apps.wildlife.ca.gov/ to report a bear incident. In an emergency, call 911.
Information provided by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
