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The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department responded to an aggressive bear in Underhill at approximately 6:30 am on Friday, May 24. The bear’s behavior was judged a risk to public safety, and the bear was euthanized after a period of observation.
In light of this incident, the department is reminding Vermonters of the steps necessary to proactively prevent bear conflicts. It is crucial to secure all food sources that attract bears to yards and neighborhoods including garbage, recycling, and backyard chickens and bees. To be most effective, whole neighborhoods and towns need to be consistent in keeping bear attractants secure.
The bear euthanized this morning in Underhill was attracted into an area resident’s yard by recycling left outside the front door this morning. The bear repeatedly returned to the homeowner’s yard after initially being scared away at approximately 5:15 am, despite the fact that the homeowner removed the recycling and no other unsecured food sources were present on their property. After returning, the bear showed no fear of people and acted aggressively.
A game warden responded to the homeowner’s call and confirmed that the bear’s behavior was aggressive. After the bear adopted a predatory stance with its head lowered and began to approach and circle the responding game warden, the warden euthanized the bear.
“No one wants bear conflicts to escalate to the point that killing the bear is necessary to protect public safety,” said Game Warden Lt. Robert Currier. “Vermonters have a responsibility to stop these kinds of conflicts before they escalate by making sure bears are not attracted to our homes by easy access to foods like unsecured garbage, birdfeeders, or unprotected backyard chickens and bees. Proactive conflict prevention is the safest thing for the bears, and for people.”
This bear was an individual of roughly 100 lbs., that had been reported for aggressive behavior by multiple landowners in the area over the past several weeks. Information on preventing conflicts with bears before they escalate is available on the department’s website.
In light of these events, Fish and Wildlife would like to remind Vermonters:
Composting with Bears in Mind
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says many people are having problems with bears looking for food near their homes, and with the food scrap ban in effect the department is providing tips for people who are composting at home so they can avoid attracting hungry bears.
“We have been receiving lots of reports of bears on decks, tearing down bird feeders, wrecking beehives, killing chickens, and getting into trash, compost and garbage containers,” said bear biologist Jaclyn Comeau. “We are offering some guidance on how to compost at home without attracting bears.”
“First though, to deter bears, bird feeders need to be taken down until we have a foot or more of snow in December. Then, make sure anything else that might smell like food is picked up. And keep your trash container secured inside a sturdy building and don’t put it outside until the morning of pickup. Beehives, chicken coops and compost bins can be protected with electric fencing.”
If you know bears are active in your neighborhood, the best way to avoid attracting them is to take food scraps to one of the drop-off stations. You can locate these by contacting your local solid waste management district or town, or find a company that picks up food scraps for composting at www.VTrecycles.com.
Composting at home while minimizing the chances of attracting bears can best be done with these tips:
- Use three parts of brown material for one part of green material. Browns can be dried leaf and yard debris, wood chips, which often can be delivered to your house free by a local tree service company, or shredded paper. Greens include kitchen scraps, vegetables and small amounts of fruits. Adding lots of brown material minimizes smells and speeds up composting.
- No meat, bones or seafood leftovers. They do not break down quickly and are strong wildlife attractants.
The food scrap ban allows people who compost at home to dispose of meat, bones and seafood in the trash, so they can be kept in a freezer until trash day.
- Give your compost oxygen by frequently mixing it or turning it over if it is in a container. This reduces odors and speeds up composting.
- Does your compost smell? If so, turning it, adding more brown material and adding a layer of wood shavings or sawdust to the top should solve the issue.
- Enclose your composter with electric fencing or compost in a hard, durable container with a lid that will be challenging for a bear to open. Some types of tumblers are bear-proof.
- Electric fencing, with food scent added to the wires will discourage even persistent bears.
- If you are currently having a bear issue, delay starting your new compost pile until the bear issue resolves. Until then, keep food scraps in the freezer or bring them to a collection site.
To learn more about properly composting food waste, go to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s website at www.VTrecycles.com.
If you are having problems with bears, you should submit a bear incident report to Vermont Fish and Wildlife at https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/WildlifeBearReport.aspx.
If a bear is causing damage, you are also urged to contact your local game warden. You can find out who your local warden is at https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/WardenLookup.aspx.
Composting without attracting wildlife takes careful planning. For information about living with bears and to report bear damage, visit Fish and Wildlife’s website www.vtfishandwildlife.com.
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Categories: Environment, Outdoors
100lb. bear aught to be good eating ! Yum !
Just more idiots moving into the country and not understanding wildlife by leaving trash/garbage out and they wonder why a bear is on their property, who suffered
just the bear, because of human ignorance and a ” HUGE ” 100 lbs bear…… Idiots !!
Real Americans who live within real mountain ranges like the peoples of states like Alaska truly know what big bears are – Kodiaks that weigh up 1500 pounds – a real “HUGE” bear. – Those westerners would laugh at this little guy & the Vermont residents who take them down thinking they’re bad-arse “hunters”. Two of my dogs are larger than this bear, mere kid stuff in a state where mountains reach only 4,000 feet high – flatland compared to the peaks of the northwest that top over 14,000 feet in height. Rugged. Serious. Hardy. Tough. Guys that respect wildlife and KNOW they can never conquer it. Shout out to my crew in Hyder! The flatlanders in VT think they’re tough guys! Again.
Yeah, same old dudes on here, their machismo gets plumped up by the image of them taking on baby bears in a sort of slightly hilly state – its comical. Keep yourselves armed tho…even these ‘wittle critters can neutralize any scrawny, human weak woods-walker out in their yard without his blasters.
Nobody has you tied to anything here do they ? So if you don’t like it here ……..
Bears can easily tear a dumpster cover apart, imagine what they could do to you, the dig earth and rotten stumps with ease. We have way too many bears in the area and on the east coast in general. Our ancestors always knew how troublesome they were.
We’ve got too many bears. Plain and simple.
100 lbs. Really. A yearling. Not much bigger than Kristi Noem’s agressive and dangerous dog. Where’s the outrage?
This is what I was thinking….
Maybe give a free puppie with every compost bin? Bears avoid dogs. Then again, most people lock up their dogs in solitary confinement inside and outside, leaving them unable to do their proactive instinctive purposes. A bear will feel the dog’s pain and then proceed on it’s mission. (My uncle’s pug chased a bear off – as comical as natural in God’s grand plan of all things.)
Recycling materials in VT are supposed to be clean, right? So why would a bear be attracted to recycling. There must be more to the story.
Why don’t we just kill nature and surrender flora and fauna to your fears? Lets kill kill kill (to quote a famous TDay song poem) and kill our way to…peace and tranquility. Yeah…lets do that.
Oh.
Wait.
Fears people… dark imaginings… looking through the glass darkly …at nature… yeah… God’s greatest creation (WE sure aren’t)…and we can’t figure out how to live in and with it peacefully. KILL KILL KILL… our solution to everything BIGGER THAN US (including trees mind you…own it)…is to kill it, or maim it or cut it down to …errrr our size…
Oh people… this can ONLY end one way, and its not in favor of humanity. God’s got it in hand though… some of us recognize Him when we see His might and majesty that strikes …respect in our hearts… that.
i guess the bear did not read the no trespass sign/// some times rubber buck shot out of a twelve gauge shot gun will help evict the state of vermonts critters/// no need to kill/// contact your local gun shop for rubber ammo///
Yeah, I take my recycled stuff to a redemption place locally, and I can vouch that most people do not rinse their bottles and cans. I dunno why not. Saving them up un-rinsed brings along a variety of little six-legged creatures to the house before any bear would show up.
Wow, serious overreaction on many levels in this comment stream. Bears comfortable around people will be become increasingly problematic. Recycling even washed will attract a bear with its keen sense of smell (better than a dog). Today’s 100 lb bear will be bigger later, if he’s acting confrontational now, imagine when he’s bigger. I would tend to agree bears don’t mix with dogs, but not always. Two years ago I had two different bears visiting my yard everyday for more than a week (they took turns) one large and one teen (100ish lbs). They were undisturbed by my two dogs going out and barking at them. I had nothing outside to attract them except empty beehive boxes, the residual odor must have been enough. After consulting with my local game warden, I was advised to put “a non-lethal hurting” on them. Rubber shotgun pellets convinced both of them that my place was not the ideal tourist attraction. No tough guy about it, I didn’t want them cozy in my yard, I was able to communicate that to them, problem solved.
Thank you….they apparently can remember food sources for 10 years or more too…..people really have no idea. Just like the woman with the Orca whales…thought of them as her children. Big, BIG mistake.
People need to watch Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom, it was pretty much all we got in Hancock Vermont, that and Hee Haw……
People have no idea, none.
Animals, predators/scavengers are always looking for a meal, something weak, young, old or lame, that’s the first target. You see these videos of Eagles trying to pick up infants. We have to have respect for animals. What are you going to do “train the bear” on a weekly basis to develop new habits?
Clearly there are very, very few people commenting that even go camping. Maybe they should cook some Salamon and see what happens, a nice burnt honey/raspberry glaze. Let me know.
All these reactions to a poor bear euthanized by authorities? What about the unreported abortions by the unconscionable Pro-“Choice” Murder forces who have total disrespect for God’s innocent creations?
@Yankeebo
What about it? It doesn’t pertain to this story. If you want to talk about it then make your own article or post an open forum about it. Trying to start bs about opinionated thoughts on abortion is ridiculous within a bear ki11 article.🙄
What is interesting is the outrage for somethings but not for others.
Puppy mistreated?
Animals not well cared for?
Cat beaten?
Wolves killed?
Jail them, they are criminals, subhuman, etc. etc….
All hell and indignation come out from all sources and makes its’ way across the propaganda network, Vermont main stream media.
Can’t feed your kids…..that’s ok, state comes in and helps
Feed your kids porn at school, that’s ok.
Have your kids go to drag shows, that’s ok.
Have satan after school activities, that’s ok.
Decide not to let the product of conception continue, that’s ok.
Teach your children envy, greed and materialism, that’s ok too.
Truth often looks ridiculous in Vermont because it’s so foreign and our populace is filled with self-righteousness from a complete diet of propaganda.
natchez shooting and outdoors sells rubber buck shot///
After reading all the comments I thought that I should remind everyone that it was the brainiacs in Montpeculiar who told us all to compost our trash. Remember, no paper bags to carry your groceries, no food left in your garbage and to compost. So, if the state told us all to get a vaccine, would we? Some of us didn’t. If they required us to jump off buildings, would we? The answer is yes too many times. Common sense for non-flatlanders who have invaded VT with their money earned elsewhere, have no clue about wildlife or common sense. Nature doesn’t cause these problems; ignorant people do and there are too many of them in Montpelier under the golden doom creating problems. Maybe they should fix our roads and get out of people’s lives and leave nature to itself!
Correction, Flatlanders not non-flatlanders. An edit button would be nice.