Biology of Bears
Most people have a hard time conceiving of bears as a pest; we are more likely to think of them as a threat or some sort of symbol of the wilderness. In areas where humans live on the borders of wild areas, however, bears definitely pose all the typical problems of even the smallest pests; they can be dangerous, they create a large amount of destruction, and they are surprisingly hard to control.
Integrated pest management means taking into account the natural make up of the pest in question in order to prevent problems from occurring between the pest and humans. In the case of bears, a basic understanding of their biology can contribute greatly to efforts to keep them away from areas inhabited by humans. Let’s take a look at some quick facts on bear biology.
Diet
Bears are omnivores, which means that they will eat both plants and meat. They are also opportunists, meaning that they will eat anything that is available; I once watched a bear in my back yard devour a 12 kilogram bag of peat moss! The size of a bear will also mean that it can consume huge quantities of food at one time, and they will do so throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Denning
Bears are rarely seen during the winter, although they are not considered to be true hibernators. The farther north one lives, the longer the season and the deeper the sleep that the resident bears will engage in.
The instinct to sleep for a long period during the winter means that bears are absolutely ravenous during the months they are awake. In the spring, they are desperate to find food sources to replenish themselves after a winter fast. In the fall, bears will eat even more as instinct tells them that the lean months of winter are on the way. These are the seasons when one needs to be most aware of bears and how to make sure the stay away from your home and yard.
Breeding
Bears are typical of most large North American mammals in that they only breed during specific seasons. In fact, bears will breed less often than herbivorous animals such as deer, because the cubs are not ready to leave their mother until they are over two years old. Females accompanied by cubs do not go into heat.
The cubs are usually born in pairs, although there can be only one or as many as four. They are born as the mother sleeps during the winter, which means female bears require an even greater energy store than males to make it through the lean winter months successfully.
For such a large animal, bears pose a surprisingly evasive problem for pest control specialists. Their size and strength mean that they are difficult to deal with at all time, and they are also very intelligent animals capable of locating and avoiding traps. In addition, there is an aversion among society in general towards shooting these animals, even when they pose a real threat to humans. The key to living peacefully with bears is in understanding their biology and ways in which you can keep them from seeing your house or neighbourhood as a source of food.