----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 2:52
PM
Subject: Re: bear and or mountain
lion
sal wrote:
my friend has a bear that comes around when
she is not there and takes the door off the house . its been back 3
times in daylight and also when i was up there last there was a mountain
lion in the drive. what is a good way to keep wild life back away from
the house? is there a noise maker or electric fence or what kind of dog or
what size gun etc. what would u all do. she said she had a talk
with the bear and told it not to come back but it did. I worry
about her. what do u do when u face a bear or mountain
lion?
Here in New Mexico we have had problems with
both bear and (not really a problem) mountain lions (cougar).
Bears
are attracted to food sources and once they learn that there is food available
in a particular location they will continue to return.
Last year, in New
Mexico, the lack of early precipitation in the spring curtailed the
availability of the bears' normal food sources up in the higher mountain
terrain. (Note to Verne L. Chinampas - we are surrounded by Santa Fe National
Forest, thousands of acres of high grade zone 5 habitat. We occupy the "edge"
of that zone and - as we are generating greater abundance at times than zone 5
- we attract the bears.)
They came down to lower elevations and got into
compost heaps, greenhouse areas where we had stored bone meal, and finally,
they destroyed a chicken tractor and all but one of the ten chickens inside.
New Mexico Fish and Game Department (known in these parts as Squish and
Maim) came with a large culvert trap and we captured the offender the
following night. Most Western States have similar programs. If the bear has
simply been a nuisance, they will tag its ear and move it to a less
populated location. Second offense - second tag. Three strikes and they're
out. If an animal has killed livestock then it is destroyed on first offense -
the evidence is that marauding bears that learn to kill domestic animals are
likely to seek the same experience again and again - something like 99%
recidivism.
Your friend can probably get state assistance in moving the bear, but she
should also try to seal up any food which is left at the cabin so that there
are no "attractive" smells.
Most brown and black bears are shy of people
and will depart rather than confront.
Cougars are also likely to avoid
humans if possible. Cougar will look for easy prey, but tend to depart in the
presence of large dogs, noise, human occupancy. Generally they go after many
of the same animals as coyotes do.
Again, depending on your area, state
game offices are the best source of advice and support. Find out if it is
legal to defend yourself and your livestock with firearms - laws vary from
state to state and species to species.
Hope this is helpful.
Vint
Lawrence
Apache Creek Ranch
Santa Fe, NM
