-Staff reports-
Georgia DNR photo
Although there have been few black bear sightings in our immediate area this spring, there have been some bear sightings in metro-Atlanta.
David Gregory with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Office in Floyd Springs was a guest on WRGA’s First News with Doug Walker on Thursday.
“We may not have heard much in Rome, but turn on the Atlanta News,” Gregory said. “We just did an interview just the other day with Channel 11, and there are plenty of them in Cobb County and Cherokee County right now, making phones ring off the hook. They are out and about and doing well. Our North Georgia population is doing fantastic. They are hungry and out and about.”
Gregory offered the following tips regarding black bears.
“Don’t feed them,” he said. “That means don’t leave your trash can out. Don’t put bird feeders out, as well as pet food. That same guidance really applies to most critters—to not feed them, because if you don’t want foxes in your yard, well, foxes are eating the mice and rats that are coming to the bird seed that is on the ground that the birds have spilled. You have to be careful about feeding wildlife. It’s all about making the habitat for them, meaning food, water, shelter, and space.”
Feeding bears (intentionally or unintentionally) trains them to approach homes and people for more food.
Bears will defend themselves if a person gets too close, so don’t risk your safety and theirs.
Sound wildlife management practices have restored Georgia’s black bears to a thriving population estimated at 4,100 bears statewide.
