SMOKY MOUNTAINS, Tennessee – There’s a reason wildlife organizations talk so much about attractants in bear territory, whether it’s black bears, grizzly bears, or any other type of bear. When a bear gets access to human food, they can become habituated, losing their fear of humans and becoming more likely to cause problems in the future. In cases of frequent bear-human incidents, the bear is often euthanized.
That’s why a focus on being “Bear Wise” when living in bear territory is so important. This means not feeding or approaching bears in addition to several other guidelines. Secure food, garbage, and recycling so the odors won’t attract animals and bears won’t be able to access it. Remove bird feeders when bears are active to prevent attracting them, and never leave pet food outside. Make sure grills are thoroughly cleaned, and alert neighbors to bear activity.
It’s not clear whether these people had left food in the cars and that’s why the animal was interested or if the bear had past experience with food in cars. One thing that’s certain is that the car wasn’t locked. Black bears have short, curved claws (about 2 inches) that happen to be quite good at opening lever-style doors like car doors. They might be able to get out if they lock themselves in, but there’s a good chance they’re going to do a lot of damage while doing so. So clean your car of food and attractants, lock your doors, and roll up your windows.
Bear Wise on Keeping Black Bears out of Cars:
- Get everyone in the habit of cleaning out your vehicle when you get out of it. Don’t leave pet food, bird seed, snacks, trash, chewing gum, candy, scented air fresheners, sunscreen, lip balm, hand lotion or anything else with an odor inside, even for a few hours. Or sitting in the truck bed.
- Avoid scented air fresheners.
- Lock your doors and roll up and lock your windows, even if you’re just parked in your driveway or in front of your rental. This will also deter opportunistic humans up to no good.
- If you’re away from home and must leave a cooler, picnic basket or other goodies in your vehicle, close windows, lock up and store stuff out of sight. If you spend a lot of time outdoors in bear country, consider investing in a bear-resistant cooler (learn more).