It’s spring. The snow is gone, the buds are appearing on trees and hungry black bears are searching for an easy meal.
Over the past few days, a black bear has been spotted roaming around Indian Island, according to the Penobscot Nation Department of Natural Resources.
Since the earth is slowly awaking from its winter slumber, the pickings are slim out there for famished bruins. That makes trash cans, compost piles and bird feeders very attractive for a bear in need of a quick and easy meal.
During the winter, black bears slow their metabolism and breath as little as one breath every 15 to 45 seconds, and as a result their heart beats just eight to 21 times a minute, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Despite their greatly lowered metabolism, black bears still lose a tremendous amount of weight, making human foods an attractive source of calories.
The Penobscot Nation Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday morning that it will not capture and remove the bear, saying that does not work because a “nuisance” bear will just wander back to where it was caught.
But island residents can take steps to help the bear get the hint and move on.
They can wait to put out trash until the morning of pickup, secure compost piles, and take down and clean around bird feeders. Once the bear realizes there’s nothing to scavenge, it will move on.
“The solution is simple, and we need your help with keeping bears safe,” the Penobscot Nation Department of Natural Resources said.
