Bare facts about bears

By Ashley Luthern

aluthern@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Like hundreds of other residents of the Mahoning Valley, Elizabeth DeAngelo enjoys her strolls through the wooded trails of Boardman Park.

And this year, reports of black bear sightings in Mahoning and Trumbull counties are making her pay even more attention to her surroundings during walks.

“I was back on the trail and saw another woman and she said ‘Boy, I hope we don’t run into a bear out here,’” DeAngelo said.

DeAngelo lives in Canfield where a bear was reported near Leffingwell Road earlier this summer but said she’s never seen a bear herself.

“I’ve lived in Canfield since 1979, and this is the most I’ve heard of the bears,” she said.

Although it might seem as if the Mahoning Valley is growing in popularity for bears, experts say sightings are about average.

“No, it’s not anything more than usual. It seems like it. I see all the bear reports, and it seems like a lot of them came in at the same time. For a couple weeks I was getting slammed with bear sightings,” said Laurie Graber, wildlife research technician for the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

As of early last week, the Northeast Ohio region that covers 19 counties had 81 reported bear sightings; Last year, 97 sightings were reported throughout the year, Graber said.

She said the number of bear reports has remained relatively the same since DOW began taking bear reports more than 15 years ago.

The northeast and southeast areas of the state have the highest number of bear sightings because they border Pennsylvania and West Virginia, which have high enough bear populations for a hunting season, Graber said.

Pennsylvania’s bear population is estimated at 15,000, while Ohio’s is estimated to be between 50 and 100, she added.

During the summer breeding season, juvenile male bears are kicked out of their mother’s den. Bears, which can live for up to 15 years, usually don’t reproduce until they are 3 to 5 years old, and female bears have what’s called “delayed implantation.”

Essentially, a tiny ball of cells develops inside the female bear after she mates with a male bear, and it remains unattached to the uterus for about six months. If the female bears gains enough weight in the fall, then the cells will implant, but if the habitat is not good and the female does not gain weight, the ball of cells will pass through her system, Graber said.

As for the young male bears kicked out of mom’s den, they go on a search for food, and that’s when they wander into Ohio.

Bears are omnivores and usually eat berries, nuts and seeds. They occasionally eat meat, Graber said.

In 2010, the DOW examined a bear that had died from apparently falling from a utility pole near Streetsboro, after it had been captured in Boardman and later released.

“We did an necropsy on the bear ... and he actually had a lot of bird seed and apples, and he had a baby bird in his stomach, too,” Graber said.

DOW policies state that if the division is called to collect a bear carcass, workers must take the bear’s measurements and weight and send a tooth to a lab to determine the animal’s age.

The division also is responsible for recording public reports of bears and documenting their location.

“It’s kind of a guess as far as if it’s the same bear as reported yesterday,” Graber said.

Jamey Graham, DOW spokeswoman, said bears can move a lot overnight, but there’s still no telling if the bear spotted near Leffingwell Road in Canfield is the same bear that was hit by a car on U.S. Route 224 in Poland.

“They are quick and move pretty fast. They’re not going to run all night long, but they can dart – especially a young male, which doesn’t have a lot of weight – and can pick up good speed,” Graham said.

She said residents can deter bears by cleaning up grills, bringing bird feeders inside at night and waiting as long as possible before taking garbage to the curb.

Because trash collection can fall on any given morning in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, bears can have multiple choices for their dinner, and daily occurrence of trash pick-ups in the Valley won’t change, said Mike Heher, manager of Republic Services-operated Carbon Limestone Landfill in Poland.

“It would be impossible for garbage trucks to coordinate on one day because they’re all private contractors,” he said.

The landfill itself might be attractive to bears with food and places to hide, and workers have seen other wildlife such as coyotes and red foxes.

“We haven’t seen the bear, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one back there,” he said.

Graber said she wants people to remember that bears aren’t monsters but instead rather shy.

“They’re not harmful animals. If you get any animal cornered, if it’s a raccoon or bear, they can potentially become aggressive. Give them their space, and don’t corner them, and don’t let your dog go after them,” Graber said.

Even though the number of annual bear sightings has remained relatively steady, Graber said media coverage has increased.

“I think media coverage can be good, because we’re relaying information to the public and saying ‘Hey, we do have bears, but they’re not specifically a danger,’” Graber said.

And over in Boardman Park, Diane Dankovich, of Canfield, agreed as she walked near a wooded, shady area — just the kind of a spot a bear goes looking for.

“The coverage might be overblown, but if a bear is there, I’d rather err on the side of caution and know about it,” she said.