No thanks. I already ate.

"bear paws" fundraiser at Kroegers

2011-09-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Shop at Kroegers Ace Hardware at Town Plaza and buy a $1 or $5 "Bear Paw" to support Bear Smart Durango! Customers (county residents only) buying a $5 paw are entered in a drawing to win a FREE bear-resistant residential trash container, courtesy of the great folks at Phoenix Recycling! Drawing to be held soon - so don't miss out! Photo from 2010.

2011 elementary school classroom program

2011-08-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango has contracted Katie Maloney to serve as Educational Program Coordinator for “I’m a Bear Smart Kid!” elementary school classroom programs, starting this fall school season.

This free, educational, hands-on program on bear ecology and being Bear Smart is available to area 3rd thru 5th grade classrooms.

Katie has worked in environmental education throughout Colorado, for organizations such as Durango Nature Studies and the Environmental Learning Center in Fort Collins, CO.

For more information or to schedule a 50-minute classroom presentation:

Katie Maloney

Bear Smart Durango

Educational Program Coordinator

970-779-0277

bearsmart.education@gmail.com

meet here for Bear Hike on TH. July 7

2011-07-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Bear Hike participants are asked to meet TH, July 7 at 5:45PM at the gravel parking lot entrance of Perins Peak SWA at the intersection of Lightner Creek Rd and Dry Fork Rd (orange marker on map). Look for the Bear Smart truck and a black bear plywood cutout.

Bears in trash: June 2011

2011-07-02T07:29:00.001-07:00

GPS mapping of reports of bears in trash within city limits for the month of June 2011. (Click on photos for larger views).

Bear Smart Durango Seeks Educators

2011-06-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango is seeking applicants for a part-time, seasonal, paid education specialist who can provide classroom lessons on black bears and living with wildlife to elementary school students. This position will begin at the start of the fall school year; volunteer opportunities are available for the summer as well.

For more information please contact Bryan Peterson at (970) 749-4262 or e-mail bp@frontier.net.

Note: photos courtesy of Bow Valley WildSmart, Canmore, Alberta, CAN.

Bear Botany Walk in Perins!

2011-06-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango is thrilled to team up with Eve Gilmore and the San Juan Four Corners Native Plant Society for a Bear Botany walk in Perins Peak SWA this Thursday, June 16 from 7-8PM. The walk is easy and attendees should leave with a better understanding of spring plants, black bears and the native foods they rely on to survive in the wild.

Attendees should meet by 6:30PM at the SE corner of Albertson's parking lot (map below) - for carpooling to the trailhead. Long pants are highly recommended.

This is a FREE event. Contact Bryan at Bear Smart at 970-749-4262 or bp@frontier.net for more information.

Website for "Living with Bears"

2011-06-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

PixyJack Press has a new website for the book, Living with Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country, by author
Linda Masterson.
Living with Bears is the ultimate hands-on guide to living responsibly and playing safely anywhere bears call home. It's a book that's fun to read, easy to reference, and packed with practical information, useful tips, and advice from bear experts all over the continent.

"We recommend Living with Bears to all our property owners, and we sell it in the office. It makes it much easier to get people to understand what they need to do to prevent bear problems." — Jim Tiffin, Crystal Lakes Homeowner's Association, Colorado.
There's even a chapter in the book about Bear Smart Durango!
We have a number of the books available for sale and if you'd like a copy, or copies, let us know.

Bear expert Rachel Mazur at Smiley on May 17

2011-05-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango hosts an evening slideshow presentation with bear researcher Rachel Mazur, a recognized expert in black bear ecology and management from Reno, Nevada.

Rachel Mazur: Black bear facts, figures, findings, and some really cute cub photos

• Tues. May 17

• 7PM

Smiley Theater, 1309 E. Third Ave.

$7 for adults / $5 for children under 12

------

Doors open at 6PM

• Free Ska beer

• Live music provided by Group Shower

• Door prizes

This event was made possible with the generous support of Ska Brewing Company, Zuberfizz, The Smiley Building, Gardenswartz Outdoors and Maria’s Bookshop.

More info? Contact Bear Smart at bp@frontier.net or 749-4262.

Dr. Rachel Mazur is a recognized expert in black bear ecology and management. Her research into aversive conditioning, social behavior, food storage, and foraging patterns has been published in scientific journals and is regularly featured in the media. She is also an award-winning author of the children's book, "If You Were A Bear." Rachel has also worked as a wildlife manager for over a decade, successfully reducing human-bear incidents by over 50% in high-profile areas of the western U.S.

bear film on city channel 10

2011-04-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

The wonderful film, "Bears of Sequoia" airs on City Channel 10 through April 12. The film features bear researcher Rachel Mazur, guest speaker for an upcoming Bear Smart Durango educational event in May. Air times are:

Mon - 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:30 PM, 4:30 PM 

Tue- 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 4:30 PM 

2009 CDOW hair snag study

2011-04-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

The preliminary report for the ongoing Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) hair snag study entitled, "Non-Invasive DNA-Based Black Bear Density Estimates in Colorado - 2009," may be found on google docs, here.

Survey sites for the study were located near Tinidad and Glenwood Springs. The photo below, from the Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project, is representational of a hair snag survey location, only.

Bear Film at The Back Space Theatre

2011-03-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Back Space Theatre in partnership with Bear Smart Durango presents a showing of the film, “In The Company of Bears” as part of their post tour of films from the International Wildlife Film Festival, Thursday, March 31 at 6 p.m.

This film examines the relationship between people and bears, told through the eyes and experiences of Canadian black bear researcher, Michael Allen. It takes place in Whistler, British Columbia, where for the past 30 years bears and people have been living in great numbers. Michael's experiences and insight gives us hope that we may come to better understand bears, and make room for them in our world. Running time: 49 minutes.

A second film, “A Woman Among Wolves” follows after a brief intermission. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children and free for Bear Smart Durango members. Memberships will be available at the door the night of the event. For more information, email bp@frontier.net or call (970) 749-4262.

Seating is limited. The film will also be shown Sunday, April 3 at 11 a.m.

The Back Space Theatre

1120 Main Ave. Suite 2

Phone: (970) 259-7940

2010 Bear Summary Report

2011-03-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango compiled a summary of the 2010 Bear Incident & Sighting data in a printed report that was presented to city and county policy makers last month. This report was made possible only with considerable help from the following: Colorado Division of Wildlife, The Durango Herald, Ecosphere Environmental Services, Heather Johnson/CDOW Mammal Research, Living with Wildlife Advisory Board of La Plata County, City of Durango and La Plata County Government. Special thanks to: Town of Mancos, Town of Telluride, Town of Vail, City of Aspen, City of Ouray and Town of Snowmass Village.

In addition, in 2010, in our area (Area 15):

• 18 bears were killed as nuisances or shot by landowner

• 10 bears were killed by vehicles, or other

• 20 bears were relocated

You can view a pdf of this Summary Report.

fun fact for the day

2011-02-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

The Durango area had more reports of bears getting into trash in one day in July 2010 than the Ohio Division of Wildlife received for the entire year.

You can read about an increase in black bear reports in Ohio here.

2010-12-27T10:11:00.001-08:00

Below is a chart produced by the IBA's Bear Specialist Group on approaches to dealing with human-bear conflict. 1) Educating the public provides a base (but has its limitations and is in general, ineffective). 2) You can educate bears by teaching them acceptable behavior, hazing (short term), aversive conditioning (long-term). 3) You can manage bears (trapping and relocating, or killing, either as nuisances or by increased hunting). 4) By far the largest chunk in approaches is being pro-active by preventing problems (removing human-provided foods, i.e. trash, bird feeders, fruit).

One major roadblock we have in our approach locally is that in the time we're taking to reduce attractants, i.e. trash, bird feeders, etc. we are continuously training new bears, including young bears, on how to utilize human-provided foods - ensuring that problems will be ongoing.

An example: The very next morning after a bear was destroyed in town for biting a resident in July, a new bear was at the same location getting into trash.

nuisance bears despite great natural foods

2010-11-27T07:14:00.000-08:00

Knoxville News Sentinel, Nov. 27, 2010

Black bear nuisance behavior in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park got off to an early start this spring and has lasted longer than usual, biologists say.

Nine backcountry campsites in the park currently are closed because of bears aggressively searching for food, and in some cases, even tearing into tents.

Kim Delozier, chief wildlife biologist for the Smokies, said the late-season spate of nuisance bear behavior in the backcountry is especially surprising in light of the abundant natural food available to the bears from this fall's acorn crop.

"You'd think with plenty of food available, nuisance behavior wouldn't be a problem, but that's not been the case this fall," he said.

Article here.

2010 Bear Sightings & Incidents

2010-11-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Although the bear season isn't officially over, here are some preliminary results of the 2010 Bear Sighting & Incident data. For a more detailed recap of the 2010 bear season, go here.

BY THE NUMBERS: There have been 1,104 reports of bear sightings and incidents in 2010.The highest months for reports were June: 145, July: 401, August: 308 and September: 109. (see graph below).

• There were 38 reports of bears in homes or attempting to get into homes, 67 reports of bears in garages, on decks or in yards and 10 reports of bears breaking into vehicles.

• 883 of the reports involved human foods. 846 of those were bears getting into trash and 768 of the 846 were bears getting into trash in the city.

MAPS: A quick preliminary plot of sightings and incidents in 2010. The maps are a good representation of where sightings and incidents occurred, but not representational of the level, or severity, of sightings and incidents. (click photos for a larger view).

FAQ: City Wildlife Ordinance

2010-08-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango worked with the the City of Durango on a FAQ and resource guide for the new city wildlife ordinance, adopted by City Council in May 2010.

The FAQ is available as a Google Document to view or print here .

A copy of the City of Durango wildlife ordinance is available here.

DOW Kills Durango Bear That Bit Man

2010-07-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Press Release

7/10/2010
Division of Wildlife

DOW Kills Durango Bear That Bit Man

DURANGO, Colo. Colorado Division of Wildlife officers shot and killed a bear early Saturday morning that bit a man near the Animas River in Durango.

The victim reported he was sleeping outside when he was bitten by a bear through his blanket at about 2:30 a.m. He received a minor wound during the attack and was able to escape the bear by entering into a nearby building.

Officers from the DOW and the U.S. Department of Agriculture responded immediately with tracking dogs, which led officers directly to a male bear approximately three blocks from where the incident took place. DOW officers shot and killed the animal. The bear carcass was identified by several people who witnessed the incident as the bear that bit the man.

"A bear that bites a person - or loses its fear of people may be a serious threat to public safety," said Patt Dorsey, area wildlife manager for the DOW in Durango. "In the interest of public safety, we chose to remove this animal as quickly as possible."

The carcass of the bear that was killed by DOW officers underwent a necropsy at Colorado State University. The stomach contents of the bear demonstrated that the bear was using human-provided food sources. This is almost always the case with bears involved in human conflicts. A package of hamburger and an ice cream-container were found in the bear's stomach.

There are several transient camps in the area of Durango where the attack occurred. These camps can attract bears due to easy access to trash and food.

City of Durango Wildlife Ordinance

2010-06-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

On May 18, 2010, the Durango City Council passed, in a 4-1 vote, a city wildlife ordinance meant to reduce the availability of trash to bears and other wildlife. The ordinance went into effect in late May.

In a nutshell, if wildlife is not getting into your trash, nothing is required of you. However, in the event that your trash gets strewn, you will be required to store your trash in a secure location or 2) obtain a wildlife-resistant or wildlife-proof trash container, and 3) abide by hours of container placement rules.

The ordinance is complaint-driven. Bear Smart Durango encourages residents to report any bear-strewn trash immediately to City Code Enforcement at 375-4930.

The feeding of wildlife is also addressed in the ordinance. You can download a copy of the ordinance here.

Chama NM bear

2010-06-28T09:01:00.001-07:00

Neat bear sculpture in downtown Chama, NM. June 2010. (Click on photo for a larger view).

bear-proofing photo examples

2010-06-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Examples of wildlife-resistant and wildlife-proof trash containers available in our area. (Click on photos for a larger view).

Below are examples of wildlife-resistant trash containers, manufactured by BearSaver, available for city residents at $4 a month. To order, call the City of Durango Department of Sustainable Services at 375-5004.

Example of wildlife-resistant trash containers available for for county residents via Waste Management and WCA Transit Waste. (WM shown here).

One size of wildlife-proof dumpsters available from WCA Transit Waste. Phone: 247-0646

A couple examples of wildlife-proof dumpsters available from Waste Management. Phone: 247-1821

Dumpsters available from the City of Durango Department of Sustainable Services. Phone: 375-5004.

a couple recent pics

2010-05-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple recent bear-related pics from the area.

A reportedly BIG bear got into trash near Ball Lane, Sat. May 8th. The friend that reported this is looking into wildlife-proof dumpsters from either the city, WCA Transit Waste or Waste Management to replace the current city-provided 300-gallon containers.

A bear got into a dumpster and damaged a garage door off CR 234, Friday, May 7th. The owners plan to have Waste Management swap the plastic lids out for metal wildlife-proof ones.

Feed set out, presumably to feed ducks, off Junction Creek.

a bear story

2010-03-31T01:53:00.000-07:00

While walking my dog in March, I found a dead bear. More precisely, the skeletal remains of a bear. The bear had most likely been hit by a vehicle and made its way partly up the steep hillside off US Hwy 160 before expiring. Two faded, blue ear tags dated 2005 and numbered 75 were lying next to the sun-bleached skull.

That’s not even the weird part.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife was nice enough to invite me in 2005 to see the process of relocating a bear from its capture site. The bear I saw, a female, was one of two captured in Rafter J, after causing property damage to storage sheds and a vehicle, all of which contained food.

I have photos of the other bear, a large male, in educational presentations I make to the public. That bear, transported and released well north of Dolores, sported two blue ear tags - dated 2005 and numbered 75.

In my talks, I mention that black bear relocation feels good and people demand it be done. But relocating bears is a band-aid approach to bear-human issues. Relocation has better success in younger bears more open to a change in behavior. (Anyone that's trained dogs knows training a puppy has better success than trying to correct bad habits in an older dog set in its ways).

Studies have shown that around 85% of black bears relocations fail, as bears moved to unfamiliar habitats continue their problematic behavior in a new location, get killed by other bears or most likely, make a beeline back home to the habitats they grew up in and know best.

Bear “2005-75” is an example. This bear made the 50+ miles back to its original home range only to, probably, meet its fate with the front end of a vehicle on a dumpster-laden stretch of US Highway 160. Bear “2005-75” was, at a minimum, twice a victim of bear-human conflict.

Instead of demanding that a state agency solve problems we’re creating maybe we should focus efforts on not attracting bears with foods, (like food stored in sheds and vehicles for instance), in the first place. Just a thought.

Bear relocation photos courtesy: CDOW, 2005.

funny bear video

2010-02-26T12:16:00.001-08:00

Still funny. Commercial for John West Red Salmon.

Courtesy of YouTube.

photo of the day

2010-02-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

For no particular reason, neither here nor there.

three-legged black bear video

2010-02-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

This is either pretty cool and worth applauding, or just a wee bit unsettling, depending on your point of view. If anything it shows how adaptable black bears can be. Local black bear researcher Tom Beck told me of the archaic leg snares biologists used in bear studies sometimes mutilating the feet of bears -- in one case a sow lost both front feet.

Not sure where this video originated or any more about it. It's kind of freaky - and may explain some bigfoot sightings!!

hibernating black bear den cam

2010-01-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

The North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota has set up a live camera so you can watch a female bear named Lily as she hibernates in her den. Lily gave birth in the den on Friday, January 22nd - so be sure to look for cubs.

The cam has become quite popular, so if you experience trouble viewing, try again at another time.

http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/lily-den-cam.html

Here are some photos of Lily and her den, from the website.

durango community bear meeting

2009-12-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

The inaugural meeting of the Bear & Trash Working Group will take place in early January. This working group brings together community leaders and stakeholders for discussion on city bear and trash policies with the goal of making recommendations for moving forward with clear, meaningful and workable solutions to reduce bear-human conflicts in the community. Special thanks to KSUT's Beth Warren for moderating this vital community discussion.

This meeting is open to the public, but the Working Group will be limited.

Bear & Trash Working Group

Tues. Jan. 12, 2010

5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Durango Public Library / Program Room 2

Topics to include:

• Overview of current city bear and trash policy

• Overview of standard community wildlife-protection ordinances

• Review of proposed city code revisions in dealing with bears and trash

• Likely challenges in implementing bear and trash policies

Contact Bryan Peterson at bp@frontier.net for more information or a list of possible attendees.

Secrets of Black Bear Hibernation

2009-11-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

This is one of the better articles out there on the science and marvels of black bear hibernation. You can also read the article as it originally appeared on PBS NOVA Online here. Hibernating bear photos courtesy of Paul Cyr.

Secrets of Hibernation

by Peter Tyson

Certain mammals have what many people might consider the good fortune to be able to sleep through the winter—to hibernate. They bed down in the fall and, for all intents and purposes, don't arise again until the spring. Raccoons and skunks do it. So do woodchucks and chipmunks, hamsters and hedgehogs, bats and bears. Some, particularly rodents, sleep very deeply, while others, such as bears, slumber more lightly.*

*This has led some biologists to differentiate between the hibernation of, say, jumping mice and the "winter lethargy" of bears. Ours is not to quibble, however, and for the purposes of this article, sleeping through the winter—to whatever degree—will be referred to as hibernation.

One of the most celebrated hibernators is the American black bear (Ursus americanus). It can go for as long as 100 days without eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, or exercising. Biologists have long acknowledged that hibernating black bears may have something to teach us, and they are now studying the animals with an eye to aiding everything from organ preservation to kidney disorders, from human hibernation to long-distance space travel.

With all this at stake, it's worth taking a closer look at the black bear and its stunning physiological feats. How can it survive for so long without drinking? Why doesn't hunger force it to wake up and seek a meal in midwinter? What triggers it to enter and leave its den?

The bear facts: One of nine species of bear in the world, the American black bear is found throughout North America, from the frozen tundras of the Yukon to the steaming bayous of Louisiana. Unlike, say, the panda, it is thriving as a species, with an estimated 600,000 individuals roaming the continent. Its sheer numbers have forced it into ever closer contact with people, with black bears regularly seen these days in and around urban housing developments and other man-made environments.

Nesting instinct: Preparations for over-wintering begin in the summer, when bears begin gorging carbohydrate-rich berries and other foods to put on weight. During this period, they can gain as much as 30 pounds per week. In early autumn, a bear (and its cubs, if any) will rake leaves, twigs, and other plant materials into the den to form a nest. Throughout the fall its activity level steadily drops until it ends completely when the bear enters its den.

Bears make dens in burrows, caves, hollowed-out trees, and rock crevices. Dens of the bears Lynn Rogers studies in Minnesota typically feature entrances just large enough for a bear to squeeze through; interior chambers measure two-and-a-half to five feet wide and two to three feet high.

It's cramped for a single bear, much less for a mother and her cubs. But that's the way bears like it: Black bears do no exercising of any sort during the winter months, prefering to lie rolled into a tight ball, with their heads between their forepaws and their heavily furred backs exposed to the worst of the cold. Dens themselves offer little insulation. In Minnesota, dens with open entrances are about as warm inside as outside, where the temperature, Rogers says, often plummets to as low as -28°F. Bears keep warm using their great bulk, their inches-deep layer of fat, and their fur, which more than doubles its insulative value during the fall.

Missing beats: Once a black bear begins hibernating, it can doze for many months with a body temperature of 88°F or higher, which is within 12°F of summer levels. By contrast, the body temperature of smaller hibernators such as marmots, chipmunks, and ground squirrels may drop below 40°F. These daintier creatures must awaken every few days, raise their body temperatures to summer levels, eat stored food, and pass wastes.

Bears can go on slumbering because their warm pelts and lower surface-to-mass ratio allow them to better retain body heat. This, in turn, enables them to cut their metabolic rate in half. Using telemetry, Edgar Folk of the University of Iowa monitored the heart rate of a captive bear in Alaska as it slept. In the early fall, its heart beat 40 to 50 times a minute for most of each night. By December, when the bear was deep in hibernation, its sleeping heart rate had slowed to as few as eight beats a minute.

Black bears keep their heads and torsos warm enough that they can wake if disturbed, though some may take awhile to do so. In a 1981 article in Natural History, Rogers told of the time he accidentally fell onto a six-year-old female in her den. Even though her cub bawled, she didn't wake up for at least eight minutes. On the other hand, some individuals can revive disconcertingly quickly. Rogers again:

On January 8, 1972, I tried to hear the heartbeat of a soundly sleeping five-year-old female by pressing my ear against her chest. I could hear nothing. Either the heart was beating so weakly that I could not hear it, or it was beating so slowly I didn't recognize it. After about two minutes, though, I suddenly heard a strong, rapid heartbeat. The bear was waking up. Within a few seconds she lifted her head as I tried to squeeze backward through the den entrance. Outside, I could still hear the heartbeat, which I timed (after checking to make sure it wasn't my own) at approximately 175 beats per minute.

Bear essentials: Over-wintering black bears do other extraordinary things—things that might someday benefit humans. For starters, snoozing bears are able to gain all the sustenance they need entirely from within their own bodies. Fat tissues break down and supply water and up to 4,000 calories a day; muscle and organ tissues break down and supply protein.

Our bodies do the same thing when we're starving—with one crucial difference: Our bodies can't restore muscle and organ tissue, which those of hibernating bears can. Bears' bodies are somehow able to take urea—a chief component of urine that is produced during tissue breakdown and that, if left to build up, becomes toxic—and use the nitrogen in it to build new protein.

Even though a hibernating bear drinks no water, it does not become dehydrated. In a 1973 study published in the American Journal of Physiology, hibernation expert Ralph Nelson and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation found that the three hibernating bears they studied were in "almost perfect water balance" after about 100 days of hibernation, during which they swallowed not a single drop of water. Nelson's team and other researchers want to learn how bears accomplish this metabolic feat, during which the amount of urine entering the kidneys drops by 95 percent, in hopes of using the information to help treat people suffering from chronic kidney failure.

Hibernating bears also have what would seem to be dangerously high cholesterol levels. Because they live off their own fat, their cholesterol levels are more than twice what they are in summer (and more than two times higher than those of most people). But bears evince no signs of hardening of the arteries or the formation of cholesterol gallstones. Research has shown that hibernating bears generate a form of bile acid that, when administered to people, dissolves gallstones, eliminating the need for surgery. Despite being cooped up in a space about the size of a doghouse, hibernating black bears also appear to avoid muscle cramping and degenerative bone loss. How they accomplish this remains a mystery.

Another mystery goes by the name "delayed implantation." A female will carry a fertilized egg in her womb for many months. The egg is ready to attach itself to the uterine wall and begin developing into a fetus. But it doesn't do so until the female's body gives some unknown signal. This adaptation allows bears to time the birth of their cubs, so they're not born too early or too late. It also gives the mother a way out if food is scarce: If she has not accumulated enough fat by the time she settles into her den to hibernate, the egg will spontaneously abort. Some biologists see this neat trick as a natural mechanism to control population.

Evidence is mounting that hormone-like substances in hibernating bears may control all these physiological tricks. When injected into other species, both those that hibernate and those that don't, these substances engender hibernation-like effects. Who knows? If people can be made to hibernate, perhaps sufferers of seasonal-affective disorder, or SAD, will find the ultimate relief: a winter-long snooze.

Want to hibernate? Human hibernation may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. In December 2000, Gerhard Heldmaier, a professor at the University of Marburg in Germany and chairman of the International Hibernation Society, announced the discovery of two genes that are thought to trigger hibernation. These genes direct enzymes to burn fat rather than carbohydrates, thereby equipping the body for hibernation. "There is no real reason," Heldmaier told London's Independent on December 3rd, "to say that humans are so different from other mammals that they are unable to enter hibernation."

Although it's possible that people may one day be able to nod off for the winter, the most likely applications of human hibernation involve medicine and perhaps space travel. Doctors might be able to preserve transplant organs longer if those organs could go into hibernation, as a true hibernator's organs do. The U.S. Army is reportedly eager to look into the potential of using hibernation to preserve wounded soldiers during transport from battlefields to hospitals. And NASA has sponsored research on using hibernation for long-distance space travel.

Spring break: In January, a pregnant black bear wakes up long enough to give birth in the den to one or more cubs. She then slumbers anew, rousing herself every now and then to lick the cubs and otherwise tend to them. The cubs, meanwhile, do not hibernate but suckle their mother, safely warmed by her sparsely furred belly. At some unknown cue, mom and cubs, which are now about three months old and weigh four to eight pounds, leave the den behind and get on with their lives in the world at large.

Weight loss is extreme among those leaving the nest. Between early fall and late spring, male black bears will typically drop between 15 and 30 percent of their body weight, while lactating mothers can lose up to 40 percent. Despite this grave weight loss, over 99 percent of black bears survive the winter. Most that do succumb do so because of den flooding or predators and not from starvation. A slumbering bear has all it needs within.

- Peter Tyson is editor in chief of NOVA Online.

2009-10-29T15:16:00.001-07:00

Bear Smart Durango's Director Bryan Peterson made an appearance on FLC's Environmental Center "Making Waves" program, hosted by Josie Pacana, on KDUR radio in early November. You can listen to the interview here in its' entirety.

bear opening vehicle doors video

2009-10-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

courtesy of GetBearSmartTV, Whistler, BC.

bear smart truck

2009-10-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

we figured that our director really can't do all this on a bicycle alone, so after receiving a very unexpected, very timely and very welcome general support contribution of $5,000 from Dr. Daniel Smith we purchased a very used 1986 Ford F150 to use for ongoing Bear Smart programs.

Look for a identifying Bear Smart logo decal soon. Special debt of gratitude to Twin Buttes, LLC for the use of a vehicle in the meantime for a.m. trash monitoring and reporting.

recent grants

2009-10-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango has received grant funding to allow for completion of bear and trash monitoring projects in the City of Durango and La Plata County. We were awarded $2,000 from the La Plata Electric Association Round-up Foundation and $5,000 from Durango City Council. In addition, we received $250 from La Plata County towards this program.

Funds will be used for a.m. and p.m. trash monitoring, trash can tagging, weekly data compilation, monthly bear activity reports to policy makers, year-end GIS mapping (with the assistance of La Plata County GIS Department) and analysis (with assistance of Fort Lewis College) and recommendations for moving forward. County funding will be used for re-printing of trash can tags to include the county's logo.

kroegers bear paws fundraiser

2009-10-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

the bear paws fundraiser at Kroegers Ace Hardware in August and September raised $1,100 in general funds for Bear Smart Durango. WOW!! Thanks to all of you that purchased $1 and $5 "bear paws" to help us in our efforts and special thanks to Bob Thom (pictured below) and the wonderful cashiers (Darci Neil and Jewell Gibson won for the most sales) at Kroegers, Rainbow Printing, Christina's Bar & Grill, Lon Erwin, Mark Smith and Jane Norton for their generous contributions in making this possible!

safe passage

2009-10-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

a friend pointed this out a month or so ago and i finally got around to taking a photo of it. These homeowners on west 2nd avenue were tired of having to repair their fence after bears wrecked it going thru their property. So they had a special metal gate made - with an opening for the bears to go thru. Pretty ingenious, and an indication that certain areas of our community deal with bears far more so than others.

pics from Fall Bear Hike in Perins SWA

2009-10-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Bear Smart Durango led a hike in fall bear habitat on Sat. Oct. 3rd, where we saw sign of bears including acorn and chokecherry scat, older scat from earlier in the bear season, tracks, claw marks on pine and aspen trees, bear trails and more. Some of the tracks and scat were very recent.

A rubbing post with bear hair and bite and claw marks began the sign of bear activity. The wind conditions were perfect for all to survive the bear pepper spray talk and demonstration as well. (click on photos for larger versions).

Part of the group stands next to a bunch of bear tracks in the wash, some of the tracks being very recent.

Group photos alongside the bear tracks in the wash.

Fresh bear scat consisting of mainly chokecherries. Notice the purplish color and the telltale round buckshot-sized seeds.

Looking at older bear claw marks on aspen trees.

We all learned a bit more on how black bears live in the wild. The host much enjoyed the great company and extends a very special thanks to all for your enthusiasm, good spirits and tales - and for sharing a really nice morning in the woods.

p.s. for those of you on the hike, here is a photo of elk chew marks on aspen from last spring for comparison.

To see more photo examples of bear sign from our area visit here on our facebook page.

Fall Bear Hike Oct. 3

2009-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Join Bear Smart Durango on Saturday, October 3, from 10:00 – 11:45 a.m. in Perins Peak SWA for a hike in fall bear country with director Bryan Peterson. The hike is easy to moderate, but involves some bushwhacking thru oakbrush.

We will hopefully see sign of bears and attendees should leave with a better understanding of how black bears live in the wild. There will also be a brief talk and demonstration on using bear pepper spray.

Registration is required and space is limited. Long pants and Colorado Division of Wildlife habitat stamps are suggested. Members are free/$10 non-members. For complete information and directions, visit the blog at www.bearsmartdurango.org. Email bp@frontier.net or call 749-4262 to reserve a spot.

• Fall Bear Hike with Bear Smart Durango

• Saturday, October 3 from 10:00 – 11:45 a.m.

• Perins Peak SWA. Meet at the gravel parking lot (click on map above) at the junction of CR 207 (Lightner Creek) and CR 208 (Dry Fork Rd). Lightner Creek Rd is a few miles west of Durango, past Wildcat Canyon Rd towards Mancos.

•Please be prompt.

• Please: no dogs, or food in daypacks.

Bears, Beer & Live Music!!!

2009-07-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

As part of the 7^th Annual Be Bear Smart Week, Bear Smart Durango hosts an evening slideshow presentation titled “The Tangled Fates of Bears and Humans: the roles bears and people play in sharing the same world’ by retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game bear biologist John Hechtel.

• Thurs. Sept. 3 at 7 PM

• Smiley Theater

Doors open at 6:15 PM with free Ska beer courtesy of Ska Brewing Company and Wildcat Canyon Liquors, and live music by Cheryl & Tim.

Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for kids and students, with admission to benefit Bear Smart Durango.

This event was made possible with the generous support of The Durango Herald, Bank of the San Juans, The Smiley Building, Cheryl & Tim, Ska Brewing Company and Wildcat Canyon Liquors.

For more information about this event, contact Bryan Peterson at bp@frontier.net or 749-4262.

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About John Hechtel: John retired from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game after a 28 year career there. He has worked in Alaska and Yukon Territory on the research and management of grizzly and black bears for nearly 30 years. His main interests involve bear behavior, bear safety, bear attacks, bear viewing, reducing bear/human conflicts and bear conservation.

John lectures on bears and conducts bear safety and bear management training courses for the public and industry, as well as for state and federal agencies. He teaches classes in non-lethal bear management techniques for hazing and aversive conditioning bears as well.

He served 6 years on the Council of the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), the professional association of biologists working on the conservation of the world's 8 bear species and is now a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bear Specialist group’s Human-Bear Conflict Expert Team. He is also a founding member of the non-profit Safety in Bear Country Society.

Bear Smart Slideshow Presentation

2009-06-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Beer and bears! What could be better? Grab a beer and some grub and watch a fabulous summary of the local bear issue.

Bear Smart Durango will host a slideshow presentation titled "No thanks. I already ate. Bear-human conflict in the Durango area" from 6 to 7 PM, Thursday, June 25 in the back bar at Carvers. This presentation by staff/director Bryan Peterson features photos from the 2007 & 2008 local bear seasons and discusses wild and "urban" bears, bear foods, area bear-human conflict issues and solutions from other communities.

Food & drinks will be available at a cash bar. There is a $5 suggested donation, that goes to the organization. This event is sponsored by Twin Buttes, LLC.

WHAT: Bear Smart Slideshow Presentation

WHEN: TH, June 25 from 6-7 PM

WHERE: Back bar, Carver Brewing Co, 1022 Main Ave.

Non-hunter bear mortality for Area 15

2009-05-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

The graphs above show Non-hunter bear mortality (bears killed outside of hunting) in our area, Area 15 of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The DOW records bear information in DAU's (Data Analysis Units) for tracking hunting and non-hunting mortality. It's a little difficult to say what comprises "our area" as La Plata County is made up of two different DAU's. So all numbers reflect Area 15, although most incidents occurred in the greater Durango area.

Non-hunter bear mortality includes: bears killed by wildlife officials as nuisance or conflict bears, shot by landowner, hit by vehicle, electrocuted, and any found mortality.

The results of bad natural bear food seasons are easily identified. The drought seasons of 2001 and 2002 and the massive food failure resulting from late frosts in 2007. (Data courtesy: Colorado Division of Wildlife).

books & bears fundraiser at The Mail Room

2009-04-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Looking for the perfect gift for kids or teachers? The Mail Room is taking part in a fundraiser for Bear Smart Durango. Located at 10 Town Plaza, The Mail Room is selling a children's book, "We Are Bears," by authors Molly Grooms and Lucia Guarnotta, as well as adorable stuffed animals called Barney Bears.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Bear Smart Durango, allowing the organization to continue working to reduce bear and human conflict in our area. For more information, call the Mail Room.

The Mail Room

10 Town Plaza (next to Kroegers)

(970) 385-4494

2008 bear & human conflict maps

2009-03-04T17:21:00.001-08:00

These maps (click to enlarge) were created from data collected in 2008 by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Bear Smart Durango and the City of Durango's Refuse Enforcement Officer. GIS maps were generously provided by Rob Bergstrom with the La Plata County GIS Department. Thank you so much Rob for your expertise and assistance. Data was compiled and entered into Excel by Bear Smart Durango.

Data includes bear sightings (bear(s) seen) and incidents (bears in trash, in human foods, broke into homes, etc.) in the city and county. It does not include bear management or non-hunter bear mortality data, (euthanization, capture and relocation, predation or bear-vehicle mortality). Absent from maps this year are calls to the Herald Bear Tracker, as those records were not preserved. That has been remedied.

There were 228 total reports, down from 1,271 in 2007. Of the 228 reports, 132 were in the city and 96 in the county. 121 (or 53%) were directly trash-related.

Acknowledgements: Colorado Division of Wildlife, Bear Smart Durango, City of Durango and La Plata County.

Note: These maps are for visual representation only and care must be taken in analyzing and interpreting the information contained.

bear smart imax film & food fundraiser

2009-01-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Bear Smart Durango hosts a heart-warming Valentine's fundraiser with the award-winning IMAX film "BEARS" on Friday, Feb. 13th at 7PM at the Smiley Theater. Come at 6PM for a pre-screening chili (meat or veggie) & chip reception courtesy of Carver Brewing and Zuberfizz. Bring a bear, any bear, be it soft, fuzzy, hard, toy, a painting or photo for our Bear Gift Sale with all proceeds benefitting Bear Smart Durango. (No live bears, please).

Fri. Feb. 13

Smiley Theater

6 PM: food and bear sale

7 PM: IMAX BEARS film

$12 adults ($10 film only)

$7 children ($5 film only)

Tickets available in advance at Maria's Bookshop, Magpies Newsstand Cafe and Southwest Sound.

This event is sponsored by: AJ Construction, LeGrand Construction, Tile Art, Advanced Concrete Solutions and Roseberry's Plumbing & Heating and is presented by Mara Legrand and Skydancer Productions.

Special thanks to: Carver Brewing, Zuberfizz, New Ice, City Market and Primesco Productions.

About the film: The fourth and most anticipated giant-screen film produced by the National Wildlife Federation, "BEARS" explores the mythical past and fragile future of some of the most misunderstood predators on the planet. From polar bears in the arctic tundra to grizzlies in Alaska and black bears in Montana, "BEARS" presents these enterprising omnivores in the full glory of their natural habitats and depicts the challenges facing each species.

county passes bear & trash ordinance

2008-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

On December 18, 2008, the La Plata County Board of Commissioners passed a wildlife-resistant container ordinance. This ordinance, proposed by the Living with Wildlife Advisory Board, provides county residents the option to minimize wildlife conflicts with trash by either placing trash in receptacles between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. on the day of pick up or by purchasing bear-resistant trash containers.

A copy of the ordinance is available here.

An article on the ordinance in The Durango Herald can be found here.

bear-resistant dumpsters

2008-11-08T10:25:00.001-08:00

Here are some photo examples of wildlife-resistant (there's really no such thing as bear-proof) dumpsters. These dumpsters have metal lids and latching mechanisms that don't allow bears access. To upgrade your dumpsters to be wildlife-resistant or to order wildlife-resistant dumpsters, contact your local waste provider.

For an enlarged version of these photos, click here or on the photos to view in Picasa. Click on the green arrow to begin slideshow.

bad idea. bad execution.

2008-11-02T11:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, a bears behavior requires that it be moved (or relocated) in some instances. Unfortunately, not all relocations of bears go as planned. (Many of you have probably seen these photos of a wildlife official being attacked during a release by an annoyed grizzly bear that was rather unceremoniously dumped from a culvert trap).

Here is video from the Craig Kilborn Show of one such flawed effort in Missoula, MT to tranquilize and remove a bear from a tree in 2007. WARNING: not for the faint of heart. The bear ended up ok, (at least in this stage of the process), but perhaps it may have been better to just leave the bear alone to remove itself from the tree on its own.

After seeing examples such as this, I'm amazed that black bears don't haul off and whack us humans more often. They display far more tolerance then we do.

bearsaver container brochure

2008-11-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

BearSaver makes arguably the best residential wildlife-resistant poly cart trash container in the industry. The latching mechanism is easily unlocked with one finger through an opening in the front and the lid automatically locks when closed. They come in three models (Grizzly, Black Bear and Varmint) and three sizes, (32-gallon, 65-gallon and 95-gallon).

Check out and download a pdf of their brochure, here.

bear-proof container testing

2008-11-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of a BearBins wildlife-resistant trash container being tested using captive grizzly bears. Containers are baited with foods, latching mechanisms are smeared with attractants such as molasses and placed in with the bears to test for effectiveness, using protocols established by the Living with Wildlife Foundation. This testing is done at The Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, MT.

View a slideshow of wildlife-resistant container testing here:

Another testing video can be found on the BearSaver web site:

http://www.bearsaver.com/PolyCart_Video.htm

Bears are given 60-minutes to fail the containers and access food rewards and containers that withstand the onslaught are star-rated in their abilities in being bear-resistant. Containers that have passed product-testing can be viewed here. I've been told that the bears remember where containers failed in previous testing and immediately test any new design modifications, one year after the previous test.

trash hit by bears

2008-10-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

Seems some bears haven't had enough of town yet. Trash hit out on Junction Creek Rd and dragged across the road. Not sure why this needs to be said, but bear-resistant dumpsters aren't very effective if the lids aren't shut.

a few thanks

2008-10-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Doug Goldsmith at WCA/Transit Waste, we now, finally, have ball caps for volunteers to wear while out helping us prevent bear issues. Thanks to Needleart for their great work on the hats! So, come help us out sometime - and in addition to the whole great karma thing, maybe, you'll even get a cool new hat out of it. Thank you Transit Waste!

Dennis Gallegos from Waste Management surprised us with a donated 90-gallon BearSaver bear-resistant trash container for use in educational purposes. These BearSaver cans are so user-friendly. Stop by our educational booth next year and we'll have it on hand for your inspection. Thank you Waste Management!

the bear rub

2008-10-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

One of the more entertaining bear videos from this past year has to be this: a black bear and grizzly bear rubbing against trees in Glacier National Park. Click here to watch the video, courtesy of the USGS/Northern Divide Bear Project.

a couple good quotes

2008-10-31T10:42:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite quotes on bear & human conflict. Both are things of beauty.

"The future and hope of nuisance-bear management lies in educating the public. We've got to create peer pressure among rural subdivision residents to keep things cleaned up. We've got to get the cooperation of county commissioners, so that when they approve new housing developments in prime bear habitat, there are covenants requiring bear-proof garbage containers and responsible behavior by residents. And these covenants must be rigidly enforced. The root of the problem is that we're leaving food out to attract bears." - Retired bear researcher Tom Beck, from "Ghost Grizzlies" by David Petersen

"The most critical element of wildlife management in twenty-first century America will be modifying the behavior of the most pervasive species of all. Reducing conflicts between people and wild animals will require controls on human actions: where we build our homes, how we landscape our yards, the way we dispose of our trash and house our pets. People, especially those who live along the new frontier between civilization and wildland, must accept that they are participants in the natural world, not mere observers." - Author David Baron, from his book "The Beast in the Garden."

more homes=more conflict

2008-10-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's fairly safe to say that the more we gobble up good, quality bear habitat the more likely we are to experience increases in bear and human conflict. (Do we have more tornados now than in the past, or do we simply have more homes and people in the paths of tornados now?) Bears and people both like to inhabit the same habitats and maps created by the GIS Department of La Plata County easily depict how growth in our area has, rapidly in recent years, placed residential areas in some really good bear habitat.

See a progression of the maps here.

Bear researcher Tom Beck has said, "Southwest Colorado has some of the best black bear habitat in the lower 48 states. We've taken really good bear habitat, and made it great bear habitat, with the addition of homes and the subsequent human foods that come with that."

Special thanks to Robby Overfield and Rob Bergstrom at La Plata County for the creation of these maps showing growth in outlying areas of the county. Red indicates new development.

recent area bear pics

2008-10-30T22:50:00.001-07:00

Photos courtesy (top to bottom): Kay Alexander, Bryan Peterson, Bryan Peterson, Julie Kleva, Bryan Peterson and Dana Fontenot. Thanks for the great photos!

You can email bear photos to Bear Smart Durango for use in educational purposes at any time by sending to bp@frontier.net.

non-hunter bear mortality

2008-10-30T22:38:00.001-07:00

Non-hunter bear mortality is bear deaths outside, and not including, hunting. An average of 225 bears died per year in Colorado from 1997 to 2007 in non-hunter mortality. Spikes in these numbers occurred, not surprisingly, in years of natural food failures, 418 bears in 2007 and 404 bears in 2002.

On average, of those 225 bears per year - 30 would be killed by Colorado Division of Wildlife, 65 by landowners and 24 by USDA/APHIS (Wildlife Services).

Bears killed by vehicles make up on average 75 percent of *other mortalities. (*bear deaths other than DOW, landowner and Wildlife Services - electrocuted, dispatched by other law enforcement officers, carcasses found, etc).

Data provided by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Top photo: Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald

Other photo: Webshots user:muddlee

la plata county bear map

2008-10-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a map of La Plata County Bear Habitat & Activity, prepared by La Plata County in 2008 and derived from Colorado Division of Wildlife Concentration and Conflict Data. It's interesting to note just how closely the conflict areas correspond with data compiled on 2007 Bear & Human Conflict.

Red: Bear/Human Conflict Areas

Green: Summer Black Bear Concentration

Yellow: Fall Black Bear Concentration

White: Overall Black Bear Range

Dots: Human Dwellings, residences

fall bear foods

2008-10-30T20:19:00.001-07:00

Here are some examples of foods that black bears eat in our area from summer to late fall. In years when they are available, bears eat little else once acorns ripen (when they turn brown) and will feed on acorns until they hibernate. Acorns are crucial for bears trying to pack on fat, with one cup of acorns providing around 880 calories. Other foods that bears turn to include, (from top to bottom):

• thimbleberry

• elderberry

• chokecherry

• serviceberry

• squawapple

• acorns

• buffaloberry

• gooseberry

• rose hips (the fruit of wild rose)

• twinberry

all photos by Bryan Peterson. Locations: Perins Peak SWA, Missionary Ridge, Powerline Trail, Lightner Creek and the Smiley Building.

unexpected guest in telluride

2008-10-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

A bear was caught checking out the lobby of a Telluride hotel by surveillance camera back in June. Thanks to Joe Lewandowski with the Colorado Division of Wildlife for passing along this clip.

durango-area bear video

2008-10-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where this is, other than somewhere around Durango. Not incredibly exciting, but real good footage of a typically colored southwest Colorado brown-phased black bear. This video comes courtesy of youtube user rvelez127. Whomever you are, thanks.

falls creek dumpsters

2008-10-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here are two photos of the bear-resistant dumpsters out in the Falls Creek Ranch subdivision. These containers are standard Waste Management dumpsters that staff at Falls Creek modified with metal lids of their own creation. The doors are half-sized so they can be lifted easily and the lids lock using welded-on carabiners. The five dumpsters are located near the entrance to the subdivision and their use has nearly curtailed all bear and trash issues. Well done, Falls Creek!

report bear sightings!

2008-10-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

You can report bear sightings and bear activity by clicking the comments link below. Please include the following in your reports: 1) date, 2) address, 3) description of bear(s) and 4) description of bear activity.

Reports should be in the following format:

10/30. 670 CR 207. Brown female with black cub - in yard, knocked over trash.

welcome: bearsmart blogspot

2008-10-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting the new Bear Smart blogspot. We were looking for a better way to keep members and volunteers informed on the latest happenings and volunteer opportunities. With this site, you can:

• notify us of any bear sightings

• find out about upcoming events and volunteer efforts

• get the latest updates on Bear Smart efforts

• sign up for memberships or request materials

• comment, or make suggestions

Hopefully, you will find this useful, and USE IT!

Bryan Peterson

Staff / Director

Bear Smart Durango