Bear activity in Haines catch many by surprise, but wildlife biologists say its not so unusual, some are still foraging

Recent bear activity around Haines, some even peering into shop windows and lumbering down Main Street on a Friday night, have caught many by surprise. But as KHNS’ Corinne Smith reports, it’s not so unusual, some bears are still foraging this time of year and haven’t begun to hibernate.

On a Saturday night in November, Haines book store owner Amy Kane was enjoying a drink at the Three Northmen tasting room.

“And we had gotten a seat by the window, and we were sitting there chatting,” Kane said. “And I hear what sounded to me like maybe somebody’s dog jumping up on the window, like the little click of the nails on the window…but it was moving strangely and I looked and it was a bear.”

Kane says it was a small black bear looking into the crowded Main Street bar. She says she jumped up and alerted the owners.

“It was sniffing the air, looking through the window. I mean there were plenty of people in there, it was lit up, it was surprising he was being that forward. But he was a little guy,” she said. “So we were all worried about him, maybe not being well fed or, he’s not in his den.”

Kane thinks it’s the same black bear that’s been seen around town numerous times recently. 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Carl Koch says it’s certainly bolder behavior than he’s used to hearing about. But he says  it’s not totally unusual for this time of year.

“So typically by now some, but certainly not all, have started to den up. What usually happens in the fall is they’re in a period of hyperphagia, where they’re eating a lot trying to pack on those lists of calories before they go in the den,” Koch said. 

Koch says for bears in the wild, once they start to burn more calories foraging in the winter conditions than they’re eating, they’ll start to den up. But bears who have access to human sources of food may stay out.

“In populated areas, where their territory overlaps with humans, if they can get rewards, they often will stay out longer. And, some of this depends on the individual bear and the age class of the bear and things like that, to some extent, but it’s not unusual to hear of bears being out now,” Koch said. 

The Haines Police Department has issued several alerts for bears seen walking down Main Street. One was seen there on First Friday. 

And it’s not just bar patrons reporting bold bear behavior in Haines. Nick Schlosstein was home with his wife Leah and their baby on Mt Riley Rd . He says it was around 11 in the morning when a black bear strolled up to their house.

“My wife looked out our dining room window and the snow is piled up so high that the bear was actually above the window, kind of looking down into it,” he said. “And she kind of was startled and called out and I came over and by the time I made it across the house, it was climbing up on top of the roof.”

He said neighbors had put the alert out that the medium sized black bear was around. He yelled to move it along, and grabbed some bear spray just in case.

“So I went outside and watched it for probably 20 minutes,” he said. “And was yelling at it, kind of trying to get it to leave. But it was mostly just on the roof and actually pushed all the snow off of the upper part of our roof and just stared at me before coming down on its own.”

Schlosstein says there didn’t seem to be any garbage or other attractants around, but has since made sure to keep their vehicles and buildings  locked and secure. 

Koch, the state wildlife biologist, says the bold bears could have learned that people’s property means there could be food to be had. “​​If there’s stuff they’re getting, you know, it’s possible, they may be hanging around, or it depends on, you know, possibly the specific bears Well, if they were getting a lot of food rewards before.”

Koch says that this time of year, bears will be more sluggish and so not as likely to run off when challenged

“When you’re hazing bears this time of year, they are just not wanting to burn as many calories,” he said. “And sometimes people say they can start to become in sort of like the beginning stages of almost like a walking hibernation, and so they can be a little more lethargic.”

Koch advised securing garbage or anything that smells like food , and hazing bears away by banging pots and pans or other noise-maker, or use bear spray.

”Now that we know they’re still bears around people, use headlamps or bring flashlights when you’re moving around in the dark. The days are a lot shorter and want to be aware of your surroundings. Bear spray will work down to some pretty cold temperatures if folks still have it from the summer. Not a bad idea to keep it with you or some other deterrent,” Koch said.

According to police logs, the local police department received 50 bear-related calls since the beginning of November. But officers have only encountered one actual bear. The majority of calls were handled by reports taken, or information relayed to other agencies such as the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, or Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Or the bear was gone on arrival.

As of Wednesday, the police report receiving 174 bear calls this year; that’s significantly less than last year’s 450 calls for all of 2020.