As black bears emerge this month from their winter hibernation — hungry and sometimes with cubs to feed — Mainers should take precautionary measures before they see bears or any evidence of bear activity, according to Caitlin Drasher, a black bear biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
“This is the time of year to be taking in bird feeders (not just at night – bears are active day and night), and making sure to secure everything from trash cans/dumpsters to chickens and beehives (e.g., electric fencing),” Drasher wrote in an email. “It is also great to remind your neighbors to do the same – it is a team effort to prevent bears from visiting our communities.”
If someone does meet a bear in their backyard, Drasher said, they should give the animal space, ensuring it doesn’t feel cornered, and then try to scare it off with loud noises — by banging pots together or blasting a car horn.
“We want bears to learn that it is an unpleasant experience to visit a backyard,” Drasher said.
In order to ward off future visits, homeowners should remove — or secure — anything on their property that could invite more bears, Drasher added.
For hikers, Drasher recommends walking in groups, making noise on the trail and keeping dogs on a leash in “bear country.” This is true for hikers in more remote areas of Maine or in Acadia National Park, which had more than 4 million human visits — and 41 reported bear sightings — in 2025.
In Acadia National Park, dogs must be kept on leashes no longer than 6 feet at all times.
“Bears are wild animals and their behavior can be unpredictable,” said Amanda Pollock, spokesperson for Acadia. “Visitors should never approach a bear for any reason.”
When camping in the woods, hikers shouldn’t store food or other odorous supplies in their tent and should cook and clean in a space away from their tent, Drasher said. Campers should lock all food related items in a vehicle or bear-proof canister, she added.
“Bears have an extraordinary sense of smell and can become habituated if they find human food,” Pollock said.
In the rare event a black bear shows aggressive behavior, like bluff charging or following, the person should stand tall and wave their arms while slowly backing away and repeating ‘hey bear,’ Drasher said. If a bear makes physical contact with a person, they should fight back in any way they can, she said, adding it is “extremely rare” for bears to attack.
“We live in bear country, and they are much more scared of us than we are of them,” said Dr. Brittany Slabach, a biology professor at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. Slabach is leading a research project on bears in Acadia that is scheduled to begin this spring.
“What we really don’t want to happen is bears becoming habituated to people because it’s really dangerous for the bears and it’s really dangerous for people,” Slabach said.
