TulsaPets Magazine November 2021

November/December 2021 • TulsaPets 29 Bear with It This summer, the team of researchers from OSU continued to track black bears in an effort to collect information on their movements throughout the state and to determine the impact that an expanding bear population will have. Fairbanks and her team work closely with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to help state officials make de- cisions on whether they want to move bears or consider creating habitat corridors. There is also the possibility of relocating nuisance bears — those which get into people’s bee- hives, garbage, etc. — to new areas. “Creating a landscape of coexistence means figuring out where bears can find forest cover and natural food sources within human-dom- inated landscapes,” Fairbanks said. “Obvious- ly, things changed a lot in the 100 years black bears were absent from Oklahoma.” Populations of black bears returned to Oklahoma in the late 1990s after they had been reintroduced into Arkansas in the 1950s and 1960s. They have established habitats in the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma and in the Okla- homa Ozarks Plateau. The population of black bears in southeastern Oklahoma was so strong that the state determined that bear hunts could be held. Currently, however, bears cannot be hunted in the central Okla- homa Ozarks Plateau region. As the OSU team from the OSU De- partment of Natural Resource Ecology and Management studies the bears’ migratory patterns, diets, reproductive patterns, and resource selection, or where they choose to live, they create maps that indicate high- and low-density areas. This also allows them to predict where certain populations might spread. Understanding where black bears live in a human-dominated landscape could be vital in efforts to balance human needs with bear needs. Fairbanks is focused on learning what direction the bears move to recolonize. “The young male bears have to travel far to find their own territory and to avoid other adult male home ranges,” Fairbanks said. “Young males wander widely to find a place to make a home. They may wander for years.” The population of black bears in the Oklahoma Ozarks is much newer than in southeastern Oklahoma, and two-thirds are males, making reproduction unsustainable. “The interesting thing about the two study areas is how different the landscape is, especially regarding humans,” Fairbanks said. “In the southeast, you have a lot of public land, and the private land holdings are large. In the Ozarks, you have a higher density of people. There’s also a lot of out- door recreation that goes on in those areas.” Through this research, Fairbanks and her colleagues have discovered that male black bears are not shy about entering the frag- mented, human-dominated habitat in the Ozarks area, but female bears avoid heavily populated areas and tend to live away from roads in more continuous habitat. Fairbanks and her colleagues are adding human dimensions to their research — at- titudes, beliefs, and behaviors towards bears — to help them determine where bears might fit in with the human-dominated landscape. “We sent a survey asking what people thought of the perceived population of bears and people’s overall attitude,” she said. “Oklahomans overall have a positive attitude toward black bears, especially those who live in the cities. In fact, Oklahomans have a higher positive attitude toward wild- life in general. Interestingly, women tend to be more fearful of bears, and rural residents are often more bothered by them.” Living with Bears When black bears began to make a come- back in Oklahoma in the late 1990s after their successful reintroduction in the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains of Arkan- sas, it was inevitable that some bear/human incidents could occur. Fairbanks said most of the problematic interactions occur in rural areas where bears roam. Black bears, which are primarily vegetarian, have been known to destroy deer corn feeders for an easy snack or to destroy backyard beehives. May and August are typically high months for reports of bear sightings, and many encounters occur at night when the animals might be lured by outside pet food. Bears are most likely to risk exploring near a residence where there are attractants such as bird feeders, deer corn feeders, apiaries, pet food, and other things. In response to curiosity and more bear/ human interactions, the website BearWise. org offers resources and educational posts about how to avoid problems with bears. Some simple tips include: Do not leave pet food outside. It attracts not only bears but also skunks, possums, stray animals, and other wildlife. Use bear-resistant trash containers if you live in an area with a high bear population. In states where deer feeding is legal, rich deer feed attracts many forms of wildlife, including bears. Install field-tested, bear-re- sistant wildlife feeder designs. Tie down bee apiaries to make it more difficult for bears to open them. Consider installing an electric fence around areas that you do not wish bears to enter. “There are no reports of bear attacks in Oklahoma, which is good,” said Fairbanks. “This information can help the state wildlife agency design outreach programs to address areas of concern and educate people about living with bears and how to reduce conflict with them.” Oklahoma State University researcher Sue Fairbanks and her colleagues help to create a positive future for black bears in Oklahoma by providing greater understanding of the animals’ habitat.