Hungry bears encroaching on humans in S.E. Arizona
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/146939.php
Published: 09.16.2006
Hungry bears encroaching on humans in S.E. Arizona
Experts point to drought and entrants' trash
By Arthur H. Rotstein
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
At least four bears have been destroyed this summer after encroaching on humans in Southeastern Arizona. Biologists blame trash dumped by illegal entrants hiking through border mountains, because it acclimates the animals to people.
Drought has caused shortages in acorns, juniper and manzanita berries that normally are dietary staples for black bears this time of year. Summer rains came too late to produce more of the foods that bears need as they prepare for hibernation, said Kurt Bahti, an Arizona Game and Fish field supervisor.
As a result, bears in the Huachuca Mountains and elsewhere have had to rely heavily on human food, said Tom Skinner, Coronado National Forest wildlife program manager.
Entrants crossing through the forest leave behind human-scented trash and leftovers, teaching the bears that people mean food, experts say. And both the number of crossers and the amount of trash are growing.
"The number of job seekers, drug smugglers and other illegal traffic coming through the mountain ranges has resulted in interactions that we're concerned may exacerbate human-bear interaction," Skinner said.
That means bears are more likely to move into areas where people live, because they know food is there and they've lost much of their fear of humans. Since mid-June, Bahti said, Game and Fish has had more than 30 calls about nuisance bears.
"We've got more doggone bears than you can shake a stick at," Bahti said.
Illegal entrants crossing into Arizona invariably carry backpacks with clothing, food and toiletries that they throw away. The discarded food, and even toothpaste, are prime attractions for the bears, Skinner said.
He said the biologist for the Forest Service's Sierra Vista Ranger District has voiced his concern.
The bears have made their way down into Ramsey, Carr, Ash and Miller canyons at the southeastern end of the Huachucas to feast on apple, pear and peach trees in a few orchards and in some homeowners' back yards.
A sow was shot Aug. 29 and her cub killed accidentally by a rubber bullet after returning a number of times to a bed and breakfast in Ramsey Canyon. That night, a canyon homeowner shot at but missed an adolescent black bear after it toyed with a locked freezer on his porch, then tried to enter the house and charged at the owner.
A 3-year-old male bear tore up the Carr Canyon motor home of a Forest Service employee Sept. 6, ransacking it for food. It ignored efforts to frighten it off, including spray from a fire extinguisher and then charged the man. He shot the bear with a .357-caliber pistol.
Five other bears in the area have been relocated. Bahti estimated there could be 30 to 40 bears in the Huachucas.
"Our suspicion is that they're very used to seeing humans anyway because of the (undocumented aliens) along the crest trail where they camp and leave food," Bahti said.
