Public Service Announcement: Bears
No one really knows how many bears live in New Jersey. Most people in the know think there are around 2,000. The bear population, as well as their territory is expanding. Just last year, a bear walked through our campus at work.
It is spring. The bears are coming out of their torpor. (A torpor is nothing more than hibernation-lite.) If you live in “bear country” or have heard reports of a bear in your area, you should be very wary and take the following precautions:
- Carry a whistle. If you encounter a bear realize that the bear wants nothing to do with you and blow your whistle. This is usually enough to scare the bear off;
- Carry bear spray. Bear spray is merely super pepper spray with a high-emission, high-volume powerful blast. If the whistle doesn’t scare the bear off and the bear approaches you, hit him with the bear spray. It is reported that bear spray is 90% effective in deterring bears.
Finally, it is a good idea to know what bear scat looks like so that you can tell what kind of bears are in your area. This will help you understand what level of threat the bear might be to you and your family, and gives you something tangible to report to wildlife officials.
Black bear scat is normally brown, smells musty, and is full of seeds or undigested grasses.
On the other hand, grizzly bear scat is generally black, smells like pepper spray, and has little whistles in it.
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