Are you ready to accept black bears as new neighbors?

The little bear by the shore is 15-18 months old. The big one weighs 400 pounds.

Bear numbers have been creeping up in the northern Lower Peninsula for at least a decade. In fact, bears are being occasionally seen in many places where they've never been seen in nearly 100 years.

Don't believe me? Consider this: Two bears (perhaps the same bear twice) have been seen  in Traverse City, and not far from Munson Hospital. It's a small bear, and probably last year's boar that Mom has kicked out as she prepared for the summer breeding period.

If that's not convincing, a bear has been seen twice in Frankfort near the west end of town. Again, it's quite likely it is the same bear that has been seen on two different nights.

Most new bears to an area are young males looking for a new home.

A number of bruins are being seen through Benzie and Leelanau counties. The Deadstream Swanp on Deadstream Road west of Honor holds some bears. Bears are sbeing een on a somewhat routine basis near Thompsonville and Nessen City in southern Benzie County, and crossing roads bordering Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore near Frankfort..

The area near the Manistee River in Kalkaska and Wexford counties are producing bear sightings because it is a natural travel corridor. Make no mistake about it: bruin numbers are rising in this part of the state,.

The breeding period is probably why many more bears are being seen in the past month. A new Bear Crossing sign were erected on M-115 just northwest of Cadillac several years ago. The reason is to caution motorists to slow down in that area. Numerous bears have been killed on M-115 northwest of Cadillac and along M-55 west of Cadillac.

Folks, the Highway Department doesn't erect those signs as a make-work project. Bears cross there and some have been killed by cars or trucks. Often, it's young bears that get killed but some large boars are being seen. A 400-pound animal was one of the bears tranquilized in and around Traverse City this spring.

Another location just a few miles west of M-115 at Cadillac on M-55 usually sees three or four bears killed by cars and trucks each year. The area has always been a favorite bear crossing site.

Deer Crossing signs are common in both peninsulas, but when Bear Crossing signs are put in place, it's done for a solid reason. An increasing number of black bears live nearby, and they move through these areas, both at night and during the day.

Other areas in the northwestern Lower Peninsula are reporting more bruins.

The Mitchell Lake Swamp at Cadillac normally holds at least 20 bruins, and some years it may hold as many as 30 animals. An increase in bruin numbers in certain locations is caused by Mom kicking the kids out before she breeds again.

The cubs are nearly full grown, and often will weight 80 to 100 pounds. Most of these transient animals are young boars  trying to stay out of the reach of older and larger males. This causes them to wander into new and unfamiliar territory, and a young boar running from a big boar can cross  highways and be killed.

Or ... the animals can become a nuisance to homeowners when they find outside garbage cans tipped over and smashed. Bears frequently come up on porches at night to get into a bird feeder, and beekeepers find young bruins at fault with the destruction of bee hives. There has been some bear damage to bee hives in Leelanau County and in Benzie County near Thompsonville  and Nessen City.

These bears are looking for a new home, and frequently come into close contact with humans. There is a poorly-defined line between acceptance and a lack of acceptance among humans when it comes to nearby black bears.

The bear seasons in both peninsulas will begin in September, and this also can lead to more bruins wandering around as they are unknowingly pushed by humans and dogs.

This acceptance level of these animals can change quickly if they begin destroying property. The farther south bears go, the lower their social acceptance level becomes. Draw a line from Grand Rapids through Midland to Bay City, and south of that line the willingness of the public to share habitat with bears is not very high.

A bear wandering around Clarkston about 20 years ago made the news, and city people were peeking out their windows before walking from their front door to the car. That bruin, a young male, was chased and seen by many people, and was finally captured in the Thumb area about 50-75 miles away. The hue and cry of city dwellers forced the DNR to relocate the animal farther north for its own safety.

The Thumb area is seeing more and more bears as time goes on. There are areas of thick wooded cover and swamps, and such areas quickly become home for a wayward bruin seeking more solitude from other larger bears. How long those animals will survive in the Thumb region is anyone's guess but the animals have established an increasing toe-hold in some southern areas.

Sadly, folks have an acceptance level for bears. it varies from one spot to another.

My though is the animals will hang around as long as they aren't unduly disturbed by humans and don't become a nahir nuisance, and part of that means that humans must keep their garbage indoors, move pet food dishes inside, and if the bears start raiding bird feelers, they must be brought in at night.

And therein is another problem with bears. They need room, and so do humans. Do we need as much as we have? It's a debatable question, but bear habitat is slowly shrinking while the population of bruins is increasing. It could become a no-win situation for downstate bears in the future unless the DNRE isolates a few areas for an occasional hunt,

The DNRE is doing a great job of managing black bears, but the animals have been seen near Bay City, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Midland, and as far south as the Michigan-Indiana and Michigan-Ohio borders.

Some great bear habitat is found south of that Flint-to-Grand Rapids line, and the food sources are much better than those found in northern counties where snow keeps the animals denned up from November through much of April.

Can we look for a greater southern movement of young black bears in the future? I think so. I also see more of the animals getting killed  on highway. I anticipate more damage being done to croplands by hungry bruins, and great damage being done to bee hives.

Can we expect our southern residents to greet black bears with open arms and a hearty welcome? Not hardly.

It’s doubtful if southern Michigan residents will readily accept bears in their backyard.

One or two bears spread over a 20-mile area wouldn't hurt anything, but if the animals found a cozy little swamp near great food supplies near Lansing, Jackson or Kalamazoo and start being seen on a regular basis, many people would rise up and scream for their prompt removal.

So where will the DNR take these nuisance bears? Most locations with a notable bear population have enough animals already. The Upper Peninsula doesn't need any more.

Humans have moved into their habitat, taken their land, and then complain when they want to take some of it back. Ask those people who live near Denver how much fun it is to move into some of those secluded canyons only to find that mountain lions live there as well. Mountain lions are far more aggressive than the average bear, but  no one wants either animal hanging around their homes and children.

Bears, like state prisons, are a victim of the NIMBY Factor -- an acronym  for Not In My Back Yard. So the state scientifically manages the state's bear numbers, but they can't stop the slow southward drift of these animals.

Me, I'm rooting for the bears but know the end is inevitable. The bruins may make very slow inroads into our southern swamps, but bear numbers will remain higher in the northern counties where most people will accept them.

It's just too bad that people in our southern counties really don't want the animals anywhere within 200 miles of them. It's sad because they don't understand how nice it is to know that bears live nearby although we seldom see  them.

Seeing them is a thrill people should  experience, at least once in their life. And if that bruin is near home, it may cause a few sleepless nights for those who leave their garbage cans and bird feeders outdoors.

But, simply stated, such causes often are the fault of  humans who are too lazy to remove a bear's temptation. Sadly, they often are the first to point the finger of blame at wild critters like black bears. And it’s unfortunate because few people really understand black bears.

Title: Are you ready to accept black bears as new neighbors?

TagsL ((Dave, Richey, Michigan, outdoors, black, bears, increasing, numbers, animals, moving, south, acceptance, level, co-exist?))

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors