SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – If you’re heading out to get away from it all, chances are good you are heading into bear country. Bears can’t just get up, pack, and move away from the crowds, so it is up to the public to become “BearWise” before heading to the Sierra Nevada and other bear regions.
Bears living in areas that are popular vacation destinations must learn how to stay alive while doing their best to avoid both the locals and a steady stream of visitors who often don’t know much about bears.
The key to being knowledgable about bears is understand that they are always looking for food. Their noses can smell lunch from a mile away, and the taste buds of the average two-year-old – they’ll eat just about anything, including stuff that’s not even food.
With that in mind, that precautions when visiting their homes:
Lock and close your car and home doors and windows when not in them Do not leave food out for wildlife. This brings them into your area for food instead of where they should be. Pack up trash and leftovers from your picnic and dispose of them correctly. Don’t even toss your apple cores or banana peels out the window! Be BearWise and dispose trash in a secure container and close and latch the lid – bears are found in dumpsters for only one reason – a human caused a problem. Do not leave the trash on the side of a container either as it defeats the purpose.
Leaving scraps behind your cabin encourages bears and other unwelcome critters to hang around homes and investigate. Bears are smart. They usually figure out there’s probably more food where that came from.
If you’re traveling with your dogs, leash them when in bear country.
Avoid leaving food, snacks, trash or pet food outdoors when no one is around.
Discourage break-ins by locking your vehicle and rolling up the windows. Don’t leave food in your car.
Keep porches and decks clean; they’re not safe places to leave food, trash, recycling, beverages or coolers.
Close and lock your doors at night. A fed bear is a dead bear, don’t be a part of the problem. Even one error can educate a bear on how to not behave in a safe manner.
Get more travel tips from the newest BearWise article: bearwise.org/vacationing-in-bear-country-what-to-know-before-you-go
On behalf of all the bears and all the people who live where you’re going, thanks for taking the time to find out how to have a great vacation in bear country. You’ll be helping to keep bears wild, you and your family safe and visitors welcome.
Very valuable bear information can be found at https://bearwise.org/.