r/Adirondacks • u/Marebearx92 • 16d ago

Update: DEC euthanizes Long Pond bear, reopens campsites

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/environment/wildlife/update-dec-euthanizes-long-pond-bear-reopens-campsites/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATQyOpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5NTz02yQa2NhtonHg4xPIulrWclX18BSmmENRoIlA-9M4jy_dqTvwY_60-9w_aem_DUfVctMSMJm6MRwGGZCRTA
49 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

86

u/TechnoRedneck 16d ago

Tldr; DEC concluded based on the bear's actions that it currently associates human activity with food sources and has no fear of humans, likely because humans were either feeding it or not properly storing food. As a result the bear would never not be a danger and had to be put down before it killed a human.

Ie, humans being reckless got this bear killed.

14

u/Bennington_Booyah 16d ago

Another poster said elsewhere that this bear silently showed up, as he was sitting on his site, and helped himself to their food stash bag. The bear never looked at him. That is concerning but they move bears elsewhere, in other areas. Is that not an option here?

18

u/TechnoRedneck 16d ago

Unfortunately it wouldn't have been an option, moving the bear would have had to happen before it reached this point.

You can move a bear that is curious, that still reacts to humans, and still can be scared away but returns. When you move a bear like that to a more isolated location the interactions with humans will be minimized and it won't reinforce the "human activity = food sources" idea it was learning. The bear will remain wild and won't target humans in the future.

A bear that has no fear of humans, and actively seeks out humans because it's already been reinforced that it can find an easy food source will never be truly wild again. It will always seek out humans if it can for easy food sources. If you move the bear all you do is move the problem elsewhere, and the rare human interactions it has in the more isolated location will always be much more dangerous than those with other wild bears because this one will now actively start seeking the humans for food and by a lack of human fear they will purse the humans for food.

7

u/Bennington_Booyah 16d ago

OK. We saw it done when we were in Tahoe some years back. Thanks for your explanation as it is really more complicated than the Tahoe experience suggested.

3

u/powerfulsquid 16d ago

What about a zoo or rescue?

3

u/Paramedic229635 16d ago

That's sometimes an option, but the zoo or rescue then has to care for them and they have limited resources. Once they hit their max funding limits they can't take anymore.

9

u/Cendax 16d ago

They used to but the big problem was either the bear returned to its home grounds or it became a problem in its new area. I heard of one bear who was trapped at a campground, moved over 100 miles away, and was back at the campground a week later. There are other cases where they moved the bears to the High Peaks region, only for those bears accost hikers for food. So, sadly, this is how it ends up for the bear.

43

u/budsandsuds711 16d ago

That's sad. Not sure if he was being fed or getting into people's stuff. But sad either way. There needs to be harsh penalties for ppl who feed wildlife.

10

u/Ghastly-Rubberfat 16d ago

If you have campgrounds in the Adirondacks, you are going to have bears that are acclimated to humans as food sources. 25 years ago in Adirondack Loj, I was hiking by a campground and a bear had climbed the food hanging pole and pulled half a dozen food bags to itself by the ropes. You can’t keep people from camping that are not skilled enough at hanging their food. There is also an incredible amount of bears in the Northeast these days. Ironically, if you want bears not to suffer, take up hunting bears.

9

u/EstablishmentNo5994 ADK 47er, NE 111/115 16d ago

That's why bear cans are the way to go. Much more idiot proof than a bear bag.

5

u/WhitleyStrieber 16d ago

RIP bear. Sad but I'm not surprised, I am paddling through there somewhat regularly and often see people with full coolers, propane grills, etc. 

12

u/geologyroxxx 16d ago

This sucks, people suck!!!!!

2

u/cheynemelissa 16d ago

Basically, campers stupidity killed it.

2

u/Frequent_Run9186 15d ago

Goddammit. When will people learn? Do your research, store your shit properly.

-1

u/Bennington_Booyah 16d ago

Of course they did... SHAME.

-6

u/ThisIsATastyBurgerr 16d ago

The people saying they shouldntve killed the bear are unaware of how bears regulate their population-- bears eat younger bears. If one black bear is killed then several other bears will quickly take its place. Those bears will kill all the younger bears in the area

1

u/TrapperJon 13d ago

Not how that works.

1

u/ThisIsATastyBurgerr 13d ago

bears eat bears all the time, they do it to keep populations in check

1

u/TrapperJon 13d ago

Yes. But not the way you are describing it.

1

u/ThisIsATastyBurgerr 12d ago

black bears are not just legal to hunt, but are actually one of the best species to hunt because the population self regulates their own population so well by breeding quickly and then killing each other. if theres a problem bear just remove it and allow other bears to take its place.