With the onset of spring, black bears are actively foraging for food and may wander into neighborhoods in search of an easy meal. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is reminding residents to be bear aware by securing garbage and other potential food sources that can attract them. Together, the bear safety resources and tips shared by NJDEP Fish & Wildlife are furthering the Sherrill Administration’s mission to deliver safer communities across the state.

“We’ve had a long winter, and black bears are emerging from their dens and searching for food,” said NJDEP Fish & Wildlife Assistant Commissioner Dave Golden. “They have a remarkable sense of smell and can detect scents more than two miles away from a food source. Therefore, it’s very important that residents reduce the potential for encounters by removing trash and other potential food sources as the smell can draw them into neighborhoods. The risk of an unwanted encounter rises if bears associate you or your property with food.”

Black bears have been sighted in all of New Jersey’s 21 counties. However, most of New Jersey’s black bears live in the northwest portion of the state, particularly Morris, Sussex, Warren and northern Passaic counties, in addition to portions of Hunterdon, Somerset and Bergen counties.

Reduce Potential for Encounters

Residents should remove and properly secure trash, pet food, bird seed, and even small livestock. Bears that have access to these food sources will learn to associate food with people and their homes. This can lead bears to regularly forage in neighborhoods and approach humans, potentially resulting in property damage or unwanted encounters with people. The use of bear-resistant trash receptacles can help deter bears.

It is also critically important to never feed black bears. Intentionally feeding bears is illegal in New Jersey and carries a fine of up to $1,000. It is extremely unsafe and may result in bears becoming aggressive.

Black Bear Behavior

Black bears are not true hibernators. During the winter, they enter a state of winter dormancy called torpor and den in ground nests, excavation sites, brush piles, hollow trees, rock cavities and sometimes beneath houses and other buildings.

They may leave dens periodically to forage during warmer periods of the winter. However, they mostly live off their body fat, which is metabolized to produce the calories and water that they need to survive. They generally lose about 20 percent of their body fat while denning. When they emerge in the early spring, black bears must regain their body weight.

Black bears are omnivorous and, as opportunistic feeders, they will consume whatever food is available. About 75 percent of a black bear’s diet is comprised of plants. They will naturally consume berries, fruit, nuts, insects, bird eggs, small mammals and carrion. When black bears emerge from their winter dens, they will primarily eat newly emergent skunk cabbage, grasses, forbs, tubers, bulbs and insects. They may also feed on carrion, such as white-tailed deer carcasses.

Know the Bear Facts

“NJDEP Fish & Wildlife continues to use its Know the Bear Facts media outreach campaign to raise awareness of bears and bear safety,” said Assistant Commissioner Golden. “The yearly campaign includes public service announcements on social media, streaming services, radio broadcasts and more during periods of peak bear activity in the spring, summer and fall, and reaches millions of people throughout the state.”

DEP’s Know the Bear Facts website includes extensive information on coexisting with black bears, including bear safety publications for distribution, and educational lesson plans for teachers to use in the classroom. To request safety literature, or download the black bear lesson plans, visit https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/bears/.

Bear Safety Tips

It is extremely important to be familiar with ways to avoid encounters and how to safely react should an encounter occur. The DEP offers the following tips for property owners to minimize conflicts:

• Secure trash and eliminate obvious sources of food such as pet food bowls, easy-to-reach bird feeders, and food residue left on barbecue grills.
• Use certified bear-resistant garbage containers if possible. Otherwise, store all garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids and place them along the inside walls of your garage, in the basement, a sturdy shed, or other secure area.
• Wash garbage containers frequently with a disinfectant solution to remove odors. Put out garbage on collection day, not the night before.
• Avoid feeding birds when bears are active.
• Immediately remove all uneaten food and food bowls used by pets fed outdoors. Walk dogs on a leash if you live in bear country and keep them indoors or in a secure kennel at night. For more tips on safety with pets, visit: https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/bears/pet-owners/
• Clean outdoor grills and utensils to remove food and grease residue. Store grills securely.
• Do not place meat, dairy, or sweet foods in compost piles.
• Remove fruit or nuts that fall from trees in your yard.
• Properly install electric fencing as an effective way to protect crops, beehives, and livestock.

If you encounter a black bear in your neighborhood or while hiking or camping, follow these safety tips:

• Remain calm. Never run from a bear as this may trigger its predatory instinct. Instead, slowly back away. Avoid direct eye contact, which may be perceived by a bear as a challenge. Make sure the bear has an escape route.
• To scare the bear away, make loud noises by yelling, using a whistle, banging pots and pans or blowing an air horn. Make yourself look as big as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stand close together with your arms raised above your head.
• Make bears aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping your hands or making other noises. If hiking through bear country, always make your presence known through loud talking or clapping of hands. Hike in a group whenever possible.
• If a bear utters a series of huffs, makes popping sounds by snapping its jaws or swats the ground, these are warning signs that you are too close. Slowly back away and avoid direct eye contact. Do not run.
• If a bear stands on its hind legs or moves closer, it may be trying to get a better view or detect scents in the air. This is usually non-threatening behavior.
• Black bears will sometimes “bluff charge” when cornered, threatened or attempting to steal food. Stand your ground, avoid direct eye contact, slowly back away and do not run.
• If the bear does not leave, move to a secure area such as a vehicle or a building.
• Families who live in areas frequented by black bears should have a “Bear Plan” in place for children, with an escape route and planned use of whistles and air horns.
• Black bear attacks are extremely rare. If a black bear attacks, fight back.

Report black bear damage or aggressive bears to your local police department or to NJDEP Fish & Wildlife by calling 1-(877) WARN DEP ( 1-877-927-6337).

For more information about black bears in New Jersey, visit dep.nj.gov/njfw/bears/

Like NJDEP Fish & Wildlife’s Facebook page at facebook.com/NewJerseyFishandWildlife .

Follow NJDEP Fish & Wildlife on Instagram @newjerseyfishandwildlife .

DEP News Release: https://dep.nj.gov/newsrel/26_0012/