BEARS IN OHIO What you need to know

DO
Put away bird feeders, trash cans and any other food sources.Protect beehives and gardens with electric fence.Report bear sightings to the Division of Wildlife.Put garbage out on the morning of garbage day, and not the night before.Thoroughly clean outdoor grills after use.Pick all ripe fruit off trees, and remove vegetables and fallen fruit from the ground.
DON'T
Put food out for animals.Approach or startle a bear.Encourage bears to come close to human habitation.Leave pet food outdoors.Put meat, fish or sweet food (including fruit) in your composter.
BLACK BEAR FACTS
The black bear is approximately 5 feet long and varies in weight from 125 to 400 pounds. It has small eyes, rounded ears, a long snout, a large body and a short tail. The shaggy hair varies in color from white through chocolate brown, cinnamon brown, and blond to black, but most black bears are indeed black or a darker shade of brown.
Though black bears are capable of standing and walking on their hind legs, the usual posture is on all fours. The black bear's characteristic shuffle results from walking flat-footed, with the hind legs slightly longer than the front legs.
Each paw has five strong, nonretractable claws used for tearing, digging and climbing. One blow from a powerful front paw is enough to kill an adult deer. But in spite of their size and strength, black bears are surprisingly agile and careful in their movements.
Black bears are omnivorous, making use of just about any available food source. Though they prefer berries, nuts, grass and other plants, they also eat carrion, small animals and fish.
When fall approaches, black bears must eat large amounts of food in order to gain enough weight to sustain them through their winter hibernation, when they survive on their reserves of body fat. During periods of relatively warm weather, they may awaken and take short excursions outside.
Black bears reach breeding maturity at about 4 or 5 years of age, and breed every two to three years. Black bears breed in the spring, usually in May and June.
Black bear cubs are generally born in January or February. The blind cubs weigh about three-fourths of a pound at birth, and twins are most common. They are weaned between July and September of their first year, and stay with the mother through the first full winter. They are usually independent by the second winter.
Except for breeding and raising young, black bears are generally solitary animals. They try to avoid humans and are considered nonaggressive except when injured, protecting their young, or protecting themselves.
Bears usually feed in the cool of the evening or early morning. During the heat of the day, they will seek shade in dense underbrush. Home ranges are determined by food types, abundance and availability, and can be as small as 1 square mile or as great as 100 square miles.
Rugged terrain and dense shrubs provide escape cover and den sites for black bears. Black bears also seek den sites under fallen trees, in hollow trees or caves, or in previously occupied dens. They are excellent tree climbers, and will use trees to escape from danger. When possible, black bears will choose streams with dense bank-side shrubbery as travel corridors to and from food sources.
Source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ontario, Can., Ministry of Natural Resources