The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) captured a 3-year-old male Louisiana black bear Tuesday morning, June 16, near I-110 in north Baton Rouge. Because the bear had become habituated and too reliant on food from human sources, it had to be euthanized.
The bear had previously been captured in St. Mary Parish and relocated to a remote central Louisiana LDWF Wildlife Management Area.
“Young male bears can sometimes be successfully relocated due to their innate instinct to seek their own home range as they disperse from their mothers,’’ said LDWF Large Carnivore Program Manager Maria Davidson. “When a bear has learned to access human sourced food associated with residential areas, it can cause a behavior progression that becomes a human safety risk. This bear demonstrated dangerous behaviors in his search for human sourced food, therefore the decision was made to euthanize him rather than attempt to relocate him again.’’
LDWF strives in all human-bear conflicts to educate the public about removing all the attractants that have caused bears to stray into human populated areas. However, because some have become dangerously human habituated, that isn’t always possible, as was the case this time.
Here are some practices that will limit human-bear conflicts:
- Never feed or approach bears.
- Secure food, garbage, and recycling.
- Remove bird feeders when bears are active.
- Never leave pet food outdoors.
- Clean and store grills.
- Let your neighbors know if you see bears in your area.
For more information on how to prevent human/bear conflicts, visit https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/louisiana-bear-wise.
