When gett'n fat's where it's at!

Wouldn't it be cool to live in a world where you can pig-out, without counting calories and gett'n fat would be fashionable. In a bear's world obesity is 'in'.

During the fall, bears enter a state of 'hyperphagia' and feed voraciously. The objective is to gain enough weight to make it through a four to six month snooze.

Throughout autumn, bears work overtime to pack on the pounds. They may range far, often outside their normal territory, in search of good food sources.

Bears need to gain a tremendous amount of weight to sustain them through hibernation. A bear's appetite increases during the fall and they eat three times as much as during the summer. The amount of time spent feeding each day increases to about 20 hours per day and they consume as many as 15,000 to 20,000 kilocalories per day. The bear's biological clock shifts into an exaggerated eating mode. The amount of weight the bear gains is regulated by the amount of fat reserves accumulated - once they reach an adequate level, a biofeedback mechanism returns the bear's appetite to normal.

The amount of weight a female gains is influenced by whether or not she is pregnant or whether she is nursing cubs at the time. A female's fat reserves need to be three times greater when she is bearing cubs and nursing. She must attain a sufficient fat layer to sustain her throughout her pregnancy and allow her to nurse her cubs in the den. If her reserves are insufficient, a unique system of delayed implantation will cause the pregnancy to cease. Although females are impregnated during the spring, the fertilized egg just floats in the cavity of the female's uterus until late November, when if conditions are right, the egg (blastocyst) will implant and the pregnancy will proceed to completion. A female bear's nutritional condition will also determine the size of her litter.

Bears seek out foods that encourage rapid weight gain. Where salmon are running, bears will be fishing. Bears catch salmon on their spawning grounds during their upstream journey. When salmon are abundant and fishing is good, bears may only eat the fat rich portions of the fish - the skin, brains and eggs. Bears will also dig for insects, or tear rotting logs apart for the protein rich bugs and grubs.

A gram of fat yields twice as many calories as a gram of protein and far more than fructose. Berries are preferred over green plants; but garbage and bird seed are often preferred over most natural foods sources.

During this heavy foraging period, bears often venture closer into residential areas than they normally feel comfortable with, particularly when natural foods are scarce. It is an especially important time of year for residents to dispose of their garbage properly and to delay feeding birds until December (when bears are safe in their dens and the bird's natural food sources become more scarce).

Often when a bear catches wind of human garbage or the aroma of meat sizzling on a barbecue, it will find the temptation irresistible and will be compelled to take the bait. Bears seek out concentrated sources of calorie rich foods. They can't turn their backs on an easy meal. Their drive to store body fat for winter overpowers their natural tendency to avoid humans and human settlements.

If you experience more bears in your backyard during fall than you do earlier in the season, there is no need for increased concern. To co-exist peacefully with bears, we all need to adopt a more tolerant attitude based on a more realistic assessment of the danger, or more accurately the lack of it. If, however, a bear is threatening the safety of people or their pets, or destroying property it is always prudent to call for help to deal with the situation. Ask the wildlife officers to use non-lethal alternatives.

With non-lethal tactics, an old bear can be taught new tricks. By using a variety of repellents and deterrents such as rubber bullets, bear bangers and screamers, or bear pepper spray; bears can be taught to stay away from humans and non-natural food sources. This innovative new approach combines negative conditioning with aggressive 'alpha' male posturing on the part of the wildlife manager to send bears a clear message of who's boss.

By using the dominance approach and demonstrating a body posture and vocalizations that speak the language of the bear, the wildlife manager commands the bear's respect and reinstills its natural desire to avoid humans.

Community involvement is an integral part of any effective bear management plan. The best way to avoid conflict is to prevent it. By making attractants unavailable to bears you can save their lives! Only YOU can prevent problem bears. The Get Bear Smart Society asks you to dispose of garbage responsibly and make attractants unavailable to bears.