Black Bears

bear photoSince 1988, the Animal Protection League of New Jersey has been educating New Jersey residents about the true nature and disposition of our native black bears. We were astounded by the overwhelming number of New Jerseyans who love bears. To be sure, there’s something about bears.

When the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) stopped bear hunting in 1970, they did so because regulated hunting killed every bear in the state. Since that time, the DFW has been working to reinstate and institutionalize bear hunting. Fortunately, massive public support for bears stopped several proposed hunts.

Desperate to overcome the public support bears had, the DFW began a public relations campaign designed to smear, slander, and malign our small timid population of bears. Well placed articles, written by hunters working for newspapers started to appear everywhere. Sensational headlines featuring bears were designed to frighten people into thinking New Jersey was overrun by marauding bears. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There has never been a single confirmed case of a death or serious injury caused by a black bear, in New Jersey. In fact, statistics show that black bears are far less dangerous than dogs, spiders, and sharks combined. Over two million residents live in bear country, in harmony with the bears.

APLNJ, in conjunction with the BEAR Group, is working to dispel myths and eliminate irrational fears. Read on to learn all you can about black bears and join our efforts to protect them. Our work with the Coalition to Protect Black Bears in New Jersey is helping to create Bear Smart Communities throughout New Jersey.

Click below for more information:

 

 

 

Action Alerts

  • Call Governor Christie's office EVERY SINGLE DAY at 609-292-6000. Don't let them transfer you to DFW. Call back if they do.
    • Tell him that national studies show that the only way to reduce nuisance complaints is through nonlethal black bear management.
    • Education and attractant (food, garbage) control is the key.
    • Bears are a self-regulating species. When they are denied access to unnatural foods, their reproductive rate goes down to what the environment can sustain.
    • Black bears DO NOT OVERPOPULATE.
    • Mention that you do not want another bear hunt in New Jersey and it’s time for bears to be removed from the game code.
  • Please write letters to your local paper supporting the bears. Keep them short and keep them coming.
  • The official public comment period for the State's Comprehensive Black Bear Management (CBBM) Policy ended on June 18, 2010. A total of 9,287 comments were received. Of these, a whopping 6,484 (70%) were against the bear management policy and against bear hunting. Please use this in all your letters.

National Research Endorses Nonlethal Solutions

photo of a bearNational research conducted by Dr. Edward Tavss, in 2005, shows that the only effective method to reduce nuisance complaints is the elimination of the food/attractants that lure bears into human environments.

This addresses the root of the issue­bears being attracted into human environments­rather than the symptom. Tavss’s data demonstrates that reducing the number of bears by hunting is ineffective in reducing nuisance complaints, as remaining bears will continue to be drawn into all environments where human provided food and attractants remain.

Click to read the full report or a synopsis.

Dr. Tavss showed us that the only effective way to reduce complaints is through nonlethal methods. Here are some other reasons why hunting doesn't work:

  • It does not address the root causes of conflicts, nuisance complaints, etc.
  • Bears are territorial. When they are killed either in hunts, DFW, or by the police, this allows new bears to move into the vacated territory.
  • States that have annual hunts continue to experience increasing nuisance complaints.
  • In states where bears have killed people (extremely rare occurrences), their bear hunts did not prevent these tragedies. Educational efforts and garbage containment would have.

There are hundreds of effective nonviolent ways to deter bears and coexist peacefully. This is where all of our energy and resources should be placed.

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Facts about Bears

As the principal biologist of the Wildlife Research Institute, Lynn Rogers, Ph.D., has spent over 42 years studying black bears. Rogers has written over a hundred scientific articles on black bear behavior and ecology and has served as senior author on more peer-reviewed scientific articles on bears than anyone in the world. He has created several museum exhibits and has edited many scientific articles, books, and TV scripts.

Dr. Rogers is a world renowned black bear expert. Many of our members, including our director attended his Black Bear Field Study Course and cannot think of anyone better to educate you about bears.

Please click here to learn more about bears.

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Bear Proofing Tips

By eliminating attractants and following these simple bear proofing tips, you can keep bears away from your home. When a community becomes Bear Smart, they can keep bears away from the neighborhood. It’s that simple.

Also, the reproduction rate of bears is reduced when access to unnatural foods is eliminated. Follow these tips to become a Bear Smart household:

  • Invest in a bear resistant container. Keep the cans outside of your house and NOT in the garage or shed.
  • Remove attractants from your property.
    • Remove bird feeders. If you must feed birds, do it between November and April, when most bears are denned. Clean up all debris and store the bird seed inside your house in air-tight containers.
    • Remove companion animal food from decks, kennels, and cages. Feed companion animals indoors.
    • Clean barbecue grills after each use and dispose of grease.
    • Rinse food containers before putting into the trash or recycling.
    • Harvest ripened fruit from trees and remove fallen fruit from the ground.
    • Do not leave groceries or other attractants in your vehicles.
    • Never intentionally or unintentionally feed bears. Comply with the Black Bear Feeding Ban Law (P.L. 2002, Chapter 97, C.23:2A-14).
    • Do not leave accessible windows or doors open. Screens are not bear-proof.
    • Stop baiting practices that bring bears into our communities.
  • If you do see bears, do not talk nicely to them. Make them think you will harm them. They frighten easily. Use basic aversive-conditioning tactics to scare the bear, but this must be consistent and initially intense. Varying it up or down will habituate the bear and become ineffective.
    • Loud noises (coins in tin can, air horns, marine whistles, banging pots and pans) can scare bears. Vary these tactics and do not give up. Persistence is the key to keeping bears away.
    • Blast bears with a spray from the garden hose or a super-soaker water gun.
    • Use dominance posturing and vocalizations on your part to teach the bears to fear you.
  • Get your local government involved in becoming a Bear Smart Community. For more information on this, please contact The BEAR Group.

If you have found other ways of keeping bears off your property, we’d love to hear from you. Please write to us.

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Lawsuits

On September 27, 2007, APLNJ and the BEAR Group won a major lawsuit when the Appellate Division invalidated the 2005 black bear management policy because they found the state violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Violations included the failure to respond to questions at the public hearing, and failure to publish a report summarizing and responding to public comments.

This legal victory shows how the Fish and Game Council (FGC), disregards laws and procedures. Instead of managing wildlife for all of us, the FGC abuses their power to satisfy less than 1% of New Jersey’s population who hunts.

Please see the full decision here.

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