Letter: Bears Don't Belong in 'Burbs

To the editor:

All is well that ends well. The bear didn’t belong in the 'burbs. We should all feel relieved .

Hopefully, he will have learned his lesson and will never venture again in urbanized areas. Black bears are wonderful animals, but they should never be welcome in our public parks and backyards. A bear that loses his fear of humans quickly becomes a nuisance and may become aggressive. We all know how much of a nuisance bears have become in North Jersey.

I spent the summers of my youth in the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal, where my parents first rented a cottage, then had their own house built on the shores of a lake about five and a half miles from the nearest village. The lake was one of many that dotted a remote region where wildlife abounded and humans were few. 

On our side of the lake, there were only six families within walking distance—32 people amidst countless raccoons, porcupines, skunks, woodchucks, pheasants, turtles, frogs, toads and snakes. There were also deer, moose and, yes, bears, though the bears were rarely seen. They kept their distance, and we did our best to stay out of their way. Their footprints were for the most part the only evidence of their presence.  

In the 18 summers I spent at Lac des Becs-Scie, no bear ever attacked or threatened a human or a pet. We were devoured by mosquitoes, not by bears. Bears didn’t need to forage for food around human habitation. They didn’t need our garbage. They were at the top of the food chain. The woods and the lake with its large population of fish and ducks kept them well-fed.    

While it is true most black bears are timid and unlikely to approach people, there are exceptions. It is good for us to remind ourselves that bears are not cuddly teddy bears, nor are they man’s best friend. They are large, unpredictable wild animals, and for that reason they should be regarded as potentially dangerous. Occasionally, a bear will attack and leave its victim severely wounded or dead. 

A few weeks ago, in Cochrane, in a remote area of Ontario, a man was eating breakfast on the porch of his small cabin, when a 400-pound bear charged him. The man’s German shepherd jumped to his master’s defense and fought the bear. But he was no match for the larger animal. The bear killed him. As he dragged the dog into the woods, the man escaped into his cabin. Not deterred, the bear returned. He smashed his way through a window and attacked his victim, gnawing at the flesh at the back of his neck and on his shoulders and arms. Bleeding from his many wounds, the man managed to run out the back door, where the bear followed him and continued to maul him. The man survived, but it took more than 300 stitches to close his wounds. Officials from the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Natural Resources tracked the bear and killed him.

In the spring, when bears come out of hibernation, they are very hungry and may travel long distances in search of food. We don’t know what was in the mind of the Cochrane bear when he attacked, though it is possible the scent of the breakfast food is what drew him to the man.   

The Moorestown bear may not be the only bear that has set foot in the 'burbs of Burlington County. Others might have escaped attention. As more homes are built on the edges of South Jersey forests, more wild animals have wanderlust and attempt to settle in our midst or pay frequent visits to our trashcans and dumpsters. We should demand that state and local authorities quickly remove and relocate any bear that is seen wandering in suburban communities.

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