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People could see a rise in black bear encounters this month especially in Helene-impacted western NC

A black bear family in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.
Beverly Meekins
/
Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society
A black bear family in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.

Officials with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission say that after Helene, they have received an increase of reports of bear and human conflicts in the western part of the state. The main areas include Asheville and Black Mountain.

Black bears are already active during the month of October due to getting ready for hibernation.

“People are likely to see bears in the western part of the state now because of a few things,” said Colleen Olfenbuttel, game black bear and furbearer biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Commission. “With the impacts on infrastructure, on government services, we're seeing an increased availability of unsecured trash, unintended donation drop off sites, as well as just the attractiveness of rotting food, particularly in homes and businesses that were damaged by the hurricane.”

In September through October, Olfenbuttel said bears go through hyperphagia, which is extreme hunger. They pack on as many calories as possible to build up fat for the winter, until spring arrives. But, due to Helene, bear encounters have gone up.

Some safety tips to prevent bear encounters include securing entry points to homes, putting padlocks on outdoor freezers and refrigerators as well as finding a secure place for garbage like a shed or garage.

A black bear walking across the road.
Jeremy Li
/
pexels
A black bear walking across the road.

Black bear collisions

State wildlife officials are also urging residents across North Carolina to drive with caution throughout the month of October due to collisions with black bears. Biologist Olfenbuttel said on average, her agency gets about 200 to 250 reports of vehicle bear collisions for this time a year.

“Bears are moving around the landscape quite a bit, looking for food, getting ready for winter,” she said. “It's also the time of year where it gets dark early. So, you have people that in the summertime, they're driving home when it was still daylight out and they could see. Now, they're driving home at night, and it's going to be much harder for them to see a black bear.”

Olfenbuttel said this is also around the time of year that deer collisions tend to happen, since it’s their breeding season.

There’s more than 20,000 bears across North Carolina, with over half in the eastern part of the state, according to Olfenbuttel.

Sharryse Piggott is WUNC’s PM Reporter.