Bears are naturally curious animals that follow their noses to locate food. Despite popular belief, a black bear’s diet is over 90% berries, nuts, plants, and other vegetation (Idaho Fish and Game). Bears can smell food from over 5 miles away, and often they find themselves in residential areas close to people on their search for high-calorie foods. Bears are attracted to pet food, bird seed, trash, and other things that are commonly found outside houses, in neighborhoods, or even by campgrounds. Because bears find themselves taking advantage of food sources close to people, they have become less weary of people over time. Some bears have become too comfortable around people, and in rare cases when bears show threatening behavior (such as stalking or jaw-clacking), they can’t be relocated responsibly, in which case Idaho Fish and Game is often forced to euthanize these bears when they get too close.

When bears aren’t hibernating, they’re searching for food sources to fatten up for their next hibernation. Since a bear’s diet is mostly low-calorie vegetation, they won’t pass up an opportunity to eat birdseed, dog food, or leftover pizza that they find in a dumpster. Foods such as these that bears find readily in neighborhoods are much more calorie-dense than any plants or berries they find in the forests, and easier to access than searching through berry bushes.

It’s important to prevent this cycle from beginning in the first place so that bears aren’t attracted to your campsite, neighborhood, or home and don’t have a reason to return to the area. Bears have been known to travel 30 miles to return to an accessible food source. If you’re currently living in bear country, what can you do to prevent bears from getting too close?