Bears who are on the prowl for food after a dry summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains are what prompted Shenandoah National Park rangers to issue an aggressive bear alert to visitors who will be flooding the area this leaf season, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Growing up camping in Shenandoah National Park, we were used to frequent bear sightings especially in the evenings after dinners had been cooked and some careless camper had left food on the tables or coolers outside their vehicle. It has always been a given to anyone who camped in that area to pack it away in a vehicle. Even toothpaste in a makeup bag in a tent could become the target of a sharp-nosed bear.
In my part of western Augusta County some bushes are loaded with berries and the black walnuts have fallen ... but I have heard from hunters that acorns in the mountains haven't fallen, perhaps because we haven't had our first heavy frost yet, so bears are roaming into areas where they will have human encounters as they search for food.
Outside pet food dishes, bird feeders, squirrel feeders (don't understand that one, either, because they quickly become pests), feeding deer -- any outside food source is a potential draw for a hungry bear.
For the first time in recent memory, park officials have posted signs in problem areas such as trailheads to warn about “aggressive” bears. One sign at the Hawksbill trail just north of Big Meadows campground warns against even camping in the area. It says “bears along this trail have harassed visitors, taken food, and damaged equipment including backpacks.”Food in tents, backpacks, and cooking on grills could be a target to a hungry bear:
So far this year, park officials have recorded 130 to 150 unfriendly or uneasy encounters with bears. Those might include a bear following a hiker or a getting spooked on an encounter with a human but then stopping and hanging around ...Bear sightings have been up in the Shenandoah Valley. Even here in my own neighborhood we have a young black bear, reportedly at 150-200 pounds, roaming the area looking for handouts. Neighbors who feed the deer (something I will never understand since we are already overrun with them) are now feeding the bears who have staked out an easy food source.
Growing up camping in Shenandoah National Park, we were used to frequent bear sightings especially in the evenings after dinners had been cooked and some careless camper had left food on the tables or coolers outside their vehicle. It has always been a given to anyone who camped in that area to pack it away in a vehicle. Even toothpaste in a makeup bag in a tent could become the target of a sharp-nosed bear.
In my part of western Augusta County some bushes are loaded with berries and the black walnuts have fallen ... but I have heard from hunters that acorns in the mountains haven't fallen, perhaps because we haven't had our first heavy frost yet, so bears are roaming into areas where they will have human encounters as they search for food.
Outside pet food dishes, bird feeders, squirrel feeders (don't understand that one, either, because they quickly become pests), feeding deer -- any outside food source is a potential draw for a hungry bear.
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