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Maryland officials say with warm weather, black bears are back and searching for food
It's April, and that means that in parts of Maryland, bears are back. They advise residents to avoid creating "backyard bear attractions." That means removing backyard bird feeders, being careful with garbage, and more. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal has more details from the DNR.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - It's April, and that means that in parts of Maryland, bears are back.
What we know:
Black bears are emerging from winter dens in search of food, and as a result, officials with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are urging caution. They said that if homeowners leave human-generated food sources like birdseed, pet food, and even trash out in the open, bears may unintentionally be drawn to residential areas.
That includes in areas other than Maryland's four westernmost counties – Allegany, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington – where bears are most common.
"We’re starting to see our bear population expanding. You know, we have a very healthy black bear population, we have some of the highest reproductive rates in the black bear range, and we’re starting to see bears pop up more frequently outside of our traditional black bear counties," explained DNR Game Mammal Section Leader Jonathan Trudeau.
Big picture view:
In part because of the black bear expansion, researchers with the DNR and the University of Maryland are currently studying the population, including by putting GPS collars on some of the bears. That study has now been underway for more than a year, Trudeau said.
"We’ve been able to see bears swimming in lakes, we’ve been able to see bears, you know, living right in and amongst homes, we’ve been able to see bears that clearly followed a road to get somewhere. We even had a bear that crossed the river down into Virginia and ended up not far from a pretty major airport, only about two miles," Trudeau added, referencing Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Dig deeper:
For more information on living with black bears, officials recommend visiting the DNR's black bear page or BearWise, an education and outreach program.