Spring bear safety stressed as people head outdoors

ASHEVILLE – U.S. Forest Service officials are reminding area outdoor enthusiasts to be mindful of bears when heading into the woods this spring.

While black bears normally are not aggressive toward humans, an attack making national news last week in which a woman in Florida was mauled by a bear underscores the potential danger, Forest Service spokesman Stevin Westcott said.

“We want people to come to the national forests and be safe and enjoy themselves,” Westcott said. “But there’s definitely a danger there when it comes to black bears. It’s something people need to keep in mind.”

It’s been several years since a bear attacked a person in the Asheville area, but close encounters happen fairly often, Westcott said. Bears will claw their way into tents and backpacks looking for food, he said.

“We’ll have at least several bear encounters that are noteworthy here in the busy season,” Westcott said. “Probably the number one thing people need to remember is to never keep scented items or food in a tent.”

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Mike Carraway stressed that the Florida incident, in which a Lake Mary woman was attacked and mauled in her yard, is atypical of black bears.

“It’s important to understand that these things are very rare,” Carraway said. “That’s not normal bear behavior that we see.”

But bears are powerful animals that deserve respect, he said.

Carraway said he’s heard a number of bear-related complaints this spring in Western North Carolina as bears become active searching for food.

“Mostly it’s people seeing bears in their neighborhood, and some calls are about bears getting into trash and bird feeders,” he said.

A grant announced this week will help backpackers on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park keep their food out of reach of bears.

The $4,000 grant from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, administered through the Friends of the Smokies, will pay for maintaining and upgrading cable and pulley systems at backcountry campsites. The cables allow backpackers to hoist their packs out of reach of bears.

Bear safety tips

Remember these tips when visiting national forests and other woodlands in Western North Carolina:

• Never keep food or scented items (such as shampoo) in a tent.

• Keep a clean campsite by properly disposing of food scraps and garbage.

• Do not leave food or garbage inside fire rings, grills or around your site.

• Never leave food or coolers unattended, even in developed picnic areas.

• If bear-proof containers are not available, store food and garbage inside, high in a tree that is away from camp, or in a car trunk.

• If a bear approaches, move away slowly; do not run. Get into a vehicle or a secure building.

• If you are attacked by a black bear, try to fight back using any object available. Playing dead is not appropriate.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Violent bear encounters in WNC and East Tennessee

• August 2011: A Candler man and his dog were injured in a scuffle with a bear, which started when the bear attacked the dog.

• May 2010: A bear was euthanized after biting a tourist in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• December 2009: A captive bear in Cherokee mauled a bear handler.

• October 2009: A llama at an eastern Buncombe farm was attacked by a bear and had to be euthanized.

• June 2009: A Black Mountain woman was hurt while trying to protect her dog from a bear.

• August 2008: A bear was shot and killed after attacking an 8-year-old boy in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• April 2006: A bear attacked and killed a 6-year-old girl in Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee.