Humans! Will Our Bears Repeat History, with a Tragic Outcome? Reflections on the Mink Brook Bears in Hanover, New Hampshire Andrew Timmins, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department- Bear Project Leader
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ost residents of the Hanover and Lebanon area likely recall the controversy that surrounded the bear family (known locally as the Mink Brook Bears) during spring 2017. This particular sow and three yearlings were a routine presence on the landscape where they frequented backyards, businesses and campus for easily accessible food rewards, mostly in the form of bird seed and garbage. These bears had become highly habituated animals due to the unwillingness by much of the public to properly secure food attractants. In a constant search for human-related food, the yearlings eventually entered a home as a result of their food searching behavior. In the months prior to the home entry, biologists from the NH Fish and Game Department and USDA Wildlife
Services had met with town officials and residents in an effort to provide education and technical assistance as it relates to bear-human conflict management. The message was clear, residents had to remove available food attractants if there was any hope for these bears to transition from residential living to life
in the wild. Collectively, town officials, biologists and some dedicated residents worked hard and did make substantial headway. During April and May, bird feeders and overflowing garbage cans became less abundant on the landscape. A handful of local folks dedicated to the cause served as “first responders� by chasing the bear family out of yards and addressing specific locations where food attractants remained. Eventually all efforts failed when the yearlings entered a home in May. Once these bears entered a home, it became mandatory for the NH Fish and Game Department to target these bears for removal from the area. Due to their level of habituation and dependence on anthropogenic foods (foods caused or produced by humans), they could no longer be allowed to live among the people, streets and houses of Hanover and Lebanon. If not addressed, the sow would continue to biennially produce habituated cubs perpetuating local bear-human conflicts. While the initial decision was to lethally remove the sow and yearlings, an intense social debate and subsequent political action resulted in the trapping and relocation of the three yearlings to northern New Hampshire. This effort occurred at the exact time that the bear family was breaking up (sows/cub groups remain as a unit for 18 months). The three yearlings were captured quickly over Memorial Day weekend; however the sow had vacated the area. Once the yearlings were kicked out, the sow’s focus turned to mating and she began traveling outside of her normal home range with prospective boars. Due to this behavior change, she moved out of the residential sections of Hanover and Lebanon and was not seen again in the area until late summer. After her return, sightings remained very infrequent through late summer and fall. Additionally, fall foods were highly abundant preempting residential feeding and conflict activity. To many, the Hanover bear saga that unfolded during spring 2017 may be a distant memory. The front page newsContinued Next Page
14 4 Legs & a Tail
Spring 2018