MIKE BRAUN Bears getting too close

What is the best solution when a large, wild animal comes sauntering into a populated area?
The Mahoning Valley in recent weeks has had a couple instances of this type.
Specifically, two large bears came traipsing through the area and found themselves in the midst of some unwanted attention. They both were relocated to local wildlife areas.
However, one of those bears decided the wildlife area wasn't to his liking and headed toward Cleveland.
At last check, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife officials said they were tracking the animal and it was in the vicinity where Lake, Ashtabula and Geauga counties intersect, near Thompson, Ohio.
There had been no official DOW interaction with the bear as of Friday, Jamey Graham, a wildlife communication specialist with the DOW District Three Office in Akron, said. District Three covers most of Northeast Ohio.
The particular identity of the bear in question here was not determined, she added, only that it was a bear that had been previously tagged with the division's yellow ear tags.
Complaints
There's been a little discussion in the Valley -- mainly on local radio -- about the bear relocation process. Some have complained that the bears should have been removed to areas far from here.
But, that's not the state's take on things.
"When a bear needs relocated, the situation is discussed by many individuals, who then decide the best area to release the bear," said Graham.
"Although the [Warren] bear was sedated and 'stored' at Grand River Wildlife Area, it's not definite that it was released there as well."
She added that the release location is not for public knowledge for the bear's safety as well as human safety.
"People are naturally curious and we don't want anyone purposely tracking down the bear to get a glimpse or picture and putting themselves in danger"
Dennis Molloy, co-host of the local "Outdoor Icon Show" on WKBN Radio 57, suggested that the division should move the bears to a more remote location.
"I'm afraid that putting the bears in Grand River Wildlife Area is nothing more than a death sentence for the bears," he said.
Molloy, a former DOW game officer, also said that a meeting between the DOW and local sportsmen held several years ago after a similar encounter left a couple bears dead brought a response from the state that their bear procedures would be examined.
"Hats off to the division officers for moving the bears [with no problems]" he said. "But the sportsmen in this area are watching the situation."
Reasons for procedure
Graham said the state's idea is that the bear should be released in the same area in which it was caught for a number of reasons:
"We don't want to spread the bear population to areas that haven't been covered yet. We want the population to spread on its own.
"When we relocate a bear in a new environment, it's confused, disoriented and out of its element, so we want to minimize change as much a possible.
"It's possible that the bear will return and later on require to be euthanized, but we do whatever we can to avoid this, so we cross our fingers when we trap and relocate and hope that the bear will return to its original home territory, which is likely Pennsylvania or West Virginia.
"It would be easy for Ohio to just put these bears in Pennsylvania, but it's not fair to [that state] to continually 'dump' the bears on them since we are never sure of where the bear was born, and we do have reproduction occurring in Ohio," she said.
Graham said the bear situation put Ohio wildlife officials in a tough spot.
"It comes down to the fact that, like this last bear, we couldn't have just let him to cross I-80 with all the traffic, but someday we will not be able to trap every bear that attempts this," she said.
"Humans and bears can co-exist, and we are trying very hard to get that point across. Bears were here years and years ago, and someday, they will be again."
Graham said that past relocation efforts have been successful. In some cases, however, she said that there have been fatalities to the animals.
"The gentleman [on a recent local radio show] was correct about the two bears having to be put down after relocation efforts, but one of these bears was hit by a car, and it was decided that the animal was too injured to not be euthanized, and the other bear was entering a trailer park on July Fourth, and the safety of many people was an issue," she explained.
braun@vindy.com