Hibernating bears begin to wake up in Worcester County. What you need to know

HUBBARDSTON — When Dawn Horne heard noises coming from her front yard around 11:30 p.m., she assumed it was just the cat. But the sounds got louder, with breaking wood, then the chickens in the coop started screaming.

A black bear had ambled into her yard for a late-night snack. Horne and her family were able to chase off the bear, but not before losing four chickens.

A little over two hours later, the bear returned, this time to the backyard coop where it took another chicken before being repelled.

Horne purchased an electric fence the next day. This was in 2018 and she has not personally had any issues with bears since, but knows they still frequent the area due to local Facebook posts — and her neighbors’ bird feeders.

“They get excited about seeing (bears and cubs),” said Horne about her neighbors who now use their bird feeders to facilitate both bird and bear watching. “They’re basically feeding them and attracting them. They’re wild animals. You don’t want those in your yard.”

The bear that came to dinner

As bears leave their dens in the spring, the foods they rely on such as nuts and vegetation to get through until summer are often scarce, having only just begun to emerge after winter, with some years worse than others.

David Wattles of MassWildlife noted that last fall was not a good nut crop in the area so is anticipating a high-conflict year as bears are drawn to yards.

“Now that we know that bears are active and there’s not much natural food available, they are going to key in on bird feeders,” said Wattles. “They provide reliable calories so bears can go from yard to yard, supplementing their natural food sources.”

As the bears become more likely to venture into backyards, the conflict with humans will only increase and they will be labeled a problem animal, and potentially shot.

“People have bird feeders because they love wildlife but if they truly love wildlife they’ll take them down. It’s the bears that pay for it,” said Wattles.

This can affect animals through multiple generations, as females with cubs are passing on these behaviors.

“Any food source that mom is doing that first year is teaching the cubs to do when it’s on its own,” said Wattles. Bears with newborn cubs will emerge in the next few weeks and if the mother bear is a bird feeder raider, “that’s all that cub is ever going to know.”

Bears that come in for bird feed will soon learn that yards have other reliable food sources, namely chicken coops and beehives, warned Wattles. He and his colleagues began to receive calls about bears earlier this month, with the first report of a chicken coop raid coming in March 3 from Holden.

That special spark

Spring is a specifically high-conflict season as bears coming out of their dens coincides with when people often decide to start raising chickens, new chicks hatch and the bees become more active, all of which can mean a tasty ursine meal.

There’s only one way to stop this with any real efficacy, as Horne found out, and that is an electric fence.

“If you have bees or chickens and no electric fencing, it's only a matter of time before you have bear damage,” said Wattles.

Though she has not had further unexpected visits from bears since installing the fence around the coop, Horne admitted that installing an electric fence is not always a simple matter. Aside from the upfront expenses, potentially considerable depending on the protected area, there are also logistical questions.

“You don’t always know what kind of fence or wiring you need, or what’s a high enough voltage that will be effective against bears,” she said.

The MassWildlife website has a complete guide set up to help with such issues, said Wattles. along with tips and tricks for set up. While bears are formidable and can withstand even a heavy jolt, there are ways to make sure they get the message, such as baiting wires with something inviting such as peanut butter, bacon grease or a tuna fish can. The bear will sniff and receive the shock to their face or nose, as opposed to the chest or other parts that are insulated by fur.

Wattles also warned that even the strongest electric fence will do little if the coop or beehive is under a tree. Despite their size and strength, black bears are skilled climbers “and they will drop down” akin to furry ninjas.

Birds can feed themselves

Black bears are not inherently aggressive toward people, said Wattles, which is why humans can live alongside large populations without incident. Despite this, “it’s in the best interest of people and the bears that we not keep these food rewards like bird feeders around our homes,” he said.

Horne only keeps feeders out in the winter, bringing them in around April.

“The rest of the year, the birds have to fend for themselves,” she said with a chuckle.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: After a mild winter, local bears leave their dens for spring