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Show Public Warned To Watch For Wandering Bears Almost on the anniversary of Cannonville's "Black Bear Incident" of last year, Utah wildlife officials have issued new warnings urging public caution of wandering black bears. In July last year, a 300-pound black bear decided he was particularly fond of the small town of Cannonville, returning frequently enough that wildlife officials made the decision to shoot the animal because he kept returning to the town, constituting a threat to human hu-man life. More recently, when Division of Wildlife Resources officials, in a similar incident, killed a black bear in the town of Hoytsville in Summit Sum-mit County, concern was expressed that a prolonged dry period may cause bears to wander into local communities in search of food and water. Precipitation in the state has been below normal and drought conditions have reduced the available avail-able food supply. Black bears are basically plant eaters and dry spell reduces the amount of forage available and can threaten their survival, says Jordan C. Pcderson, mammals program coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. "Normally adult bears have a well defined home range. But, when there are periods of stress such as conditions brought on by the lack of moisture, they will wander outside of these areas in search of food." Because of the scarcity of wild or natural foods, cubs may nurse more and longer, hastening the decline in physical condition of the female. Attending to cubs may prevent the female from maximizing her foraging forag-ing efforts. In addition, young cubs may begin to compete with the female fe-male for what food she finds. "A young cub will normally stay with its mother for a little over a year before setting out on its own," says Pederson. "However, if the female senses a drain on her body condition and there's not sufficient food to keep up her strength and reserves, she is likely to abandon her young as a survival response to severe environmental pressure." When weaned, a female cub will usually occupy a portion of the home range of its mother, but a male cub is likely to be mobile and wander in search of an area free of other male bears. Wildlife radio transmitters have confirmed that bear movement of more than 50 miles is not uncommon. Wildlife officials urge all citizens citi-zens to act responsible in the presence pres-ence of a black bear even a young cub. When a bear wanders into a community, it should be kept under surveillance from a distance. dis-tance. Citizens should contact the local wildlife conservation officer so that the animal can be returned whenever possible safely to the wild. Campers are urged to keep campsites clean and free of open foods that may attract a wandering bear. |