If you feed them, they will come

Three scavenging bears killed in Waterbury this month

July 25, 2020  |  By Cheryl Casey

The state has three steel traps used for bears including this one deployed behind Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center to capture two nuisance bears that were then euthanized. Photo courtesy of Cold Hollow Cider Mill.

In a summer that has seen growing cases across the state of bears hanging out in human territory, state wildlife officials say the Waterbury-Stowe area has so far been the worst affected by bear scavenging. 

In the last week, two male bears were captured in state traps set at Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center, and subsequently euthanized by a state Fish & Wildlife game warden. 

A third male bear was shot and killed in Kneeland Flats Trailer Park by a resident. The warden, Sgt. Chad Barrett, said in an interview Friday that he would be serving the individual with a citation for preemptively taking lethal measures against the bear outside of hunting season. Barrett said he could release more details in the shooting incident after the citation was completed. 

According to state Wildlife Biologist Forrest Hammond, wardens typically euthanize no more than five nuisance bears per year. This season’s dry conditions are leading to a shortage of natural food sources, however, forcing bears to seek alternatives that are bringing them closer to people and creating numerous conflicts. 

For the two bears at the Waterbury cider mill, Hammond consulted with Barrett who is the state game warden assigned to the area. Barrett had investigated two separate reports of nearby home damage and at least one of the bears acting aggressively toward humans in the camping area behind the cider mill. “An individual told me that some people were charged and chased into their car, and one of the bears then started pushing on the car after [the people] had gotten in it,” Barrett explained.

The larger of the two bears, weighing in at 310 pounds, also was able to use its powerful front legs to open a dumpster just enough to get at the goodies inside, despite the dumpster being properly secured with bear-proof measures. “They are massive creatures,” Barrett said. “Their legs are as big around as a grown man’s thighs. People don’t realize the strength and power and intelligence of black bears.” 

In light of the reports, Hammond and Barrett determined that trapping and euthanizing the bears was the appropriate course of action. “Our number-one objective in bear management in the state is human safety first, and number two is trying to be as sensitive as possible to the needs of the bear,” explained Hammond. Sometimes these two objectives cannot be reconciled.

One of the state’s three bear traps was brought to the site. The traps are made from galvanized steel culverts measuring approximately eight feet long and three feet in diameter. Holes are punched into the culvert to allow air flow. At one end of the trap is a spring-loaded door. At the far end, bait is placed on a pressure plate. 

Because the bears seemed especially interested in the trash container where bacon grease had been disposed, Barrett suggested baiting the trap with cider doughnuts soaked in bacon grease. The first bear was found in the trap on the morning of July 16. Barrett said he responded immediately and retrieved and euthanized the bear. 

The second larger bear was found in the trap on Thursday morning, July 23. Barrett said he was delayed in getting to the cider mill by another call that took priority according to Fish & Wildlife Department protocol. 

While the bear angrily waited it out for a few extra hours in the trap, a Facebook post with a photo of the trap garnered some 100 comments from people expressing everything from concern to sadness to outright rage. 

Hammond, however, defended the game warden’s decisions, calling the social media commentary “out of proportion.” He pointed out that Barrett’s territory is large, from Hancock to Bolton. Responding immediately to a call can often take up to an hour because of the drive alone. Being on another call would take even longer, he said. 

“I can understand people’s concern,” Hammond said, “but everything was done by protocol. We do make every effort, once daylight occurs and the sun comes up, to work a bear as fast as possible. As far as the weather goes, it was a nicer day than we’ve had recently. I don’t think the bear suffered any.”

On Friday, the nonprofit wildlife advocacy group Protect Our Wildlife Vermont weighed in on the Waterbury operation in a Facebook post of its own: “One of the bears that was killed was a long-time dumpster diver. This means years of humans conditioning this bear to choose unsafe feeding behavior,” wrote group co-founder Pat Monteferrante.

Recent Front Porch Forum postings have reported bear sightings in various locations around Waterbury village, including Stowe Street, Railroad Street, and behind Thatcher Brook Primary School. Barrett thinks that this bear is likely different from the ones in Waterbury Center based on descriptions of it being much smaller. 

Feeding a bear can be deadly

This bear visits a Duxbury neighborhood at night looking for snacks. Photo by Amanda Isham.

Wildlife officials agree that bears are greatly motivated by food and finding easy sources of it.  And Hammond warns that once a bear becomes comfortable feeding near humans, there is often no going back: a fed bear is a dead bear. Relocating bears isn’t an option in Vermont. According to the Fish & Wildlife Department’s website, Vermont’s black bear population is currently on the upper end of the state’s management goals, and spaces far enough away from humans are increasingly difficult to find so that relocating a bear will likely just make it a nuisance in someone else’s neighborhood. “Vermont’s not like Alaska,” reminded Barrett, a 14-year veteran of the state’s warden service. 

A black bear might roam some five miles in a night, ravaging bird feeders, livestock, and garbage containers along the way. In a matter of weeks, a bear can travel the length of the state. 

Barrett explained that bears are inclined to prefer backyards over searching for natural food sources “because it’s easier for them to get more food while expending less calories.”

In other words, humans are making it too easy.

Hammond has worked in bear research for some 40 years, 10 spent in Wyoming. He said that occasionally wardens will try a “hard release” of a trapped bear. In such cases, the warden will pair the moment of release with lots of loud noises, so as to scare the bear away from returning to the location. Hard release tends to be more effective with male bears as they will roam unencumbered across a much larger area than females who have cubs in tow. Wardens have done a hard release six times at state parks this year. 

Despite game wardens’ work to save Vermont’s black bears, as bears grow more accustomed to scavenging around people, humane tactics are rendered ineffective. 

When bears are euthanized, the meat is given to those in need, usually elderly and handicapped Vermonters, Hammond said. That meat is counted in the department’s tracking of big game each year which provides over four million meals for Vermonters annually, Hammond said. 

Living with black bears

Store trash in a garage or shed to make it difficult for a bear to get into. No snacks for this bear in Stowe recently. Photo by Laura Vilalta.

The number of bears that become a nuisance and have to be euthanized can be reduced if humans take just a few simple steps but they require people to alter their habits. “Therein comes the piece where Vermonters need to get educated,” Barrett said. 

First, avoid putting out bird feeders between April 1 and December 1. 

Second, bring garbage cans indoors at night or secure them with bears’ strength and intelligence in mind. 

Livestock should be enclosed with electric fencing. 

Finally, to minimize odors from compost, mix three times as much brown material (dry leaves, paper, even dryer lint) into compost as green material (food scraps).

The state’s new recycling law as of July 1 that bans food from trash headed to the landfill is emerging this summer as a reason bears might be visiting new backyard compost containers. However, the law allows for meat scraps, bones and fish to continue to be thrown in the trash so they aren’t mixed in with compost where they might attract wildlife.

In writing about the Waterbury bear trapping and deaths, Monteferrante of Protect Our Vermont Wildlife said the group has asked the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department to notify the public on its website when a bear is killed and to explain why and where it happened. 

Public information on such measures could help educate the community and encourage humans to be more responsible with trash and other things that attract bears, Monteferrante said. 

“We are failing these majestic animals. This is on us,” she wrote. 

The Fish & Wildlife Department has extensive information online about “Living With Black Bears” in Vermont, including details about the above recommendations. Both Hammond and Barrett agreed that taking steps to avoid attracting bears to human territory can save bears’ lives and save humans the headaches that bear intrusions can cause.

In the meantime, some are wondering if there are any plans to develop Barrett’s bacon-cider doughnuts for human consumption. Waterbury Roundabout was unable to reach someone at Cold Hollow Cider Mill for comment on Friday.

Find more information about bears on the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife website including a form to report a bear incident.

Cheryl Casey is an associate professor of Communication at Champlain College and lives in Waterbury Center.