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Bear sightings are up. Here's how to keep bears away.

Bear scat by the seawall in Dillingham, July 2024.
Meg Duff
/
KDLG
Bear scat by the seawall in Dillingham, July 2024.

A number of bears have been spotted in Dillingham. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game shares tips for keeping bears away.

Like many Alaskans, bears spend the summers fishing and foraging. Dillingham residents have recently reported bears near town in the Snag point neighborhood, on Waskey Road, and near Kanakanak Hospital and the Vortec area.

Evelyn Lichwa, an assistant wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says bears can also lurk near dumpsters in Dillingham, because many of those dumpsters are not bear safe. Lichwa shared tips for keeping bears away.

“Putting an electric fence around your smokehouse, putting garbage out on garbage day instead of beforehand, and managing fish waste — taking it to the dump as soon as possible, or just not leaving it out,” Lichwa said.

Lichwa says if you can’t put an electric fence around your smokehouse, it’s good to at least keep an eye on it so bears don’t get in.

“You don't have to stand guard, you know, the whole time. But if you go back into the house, if possible, just keep an eye on it in case any bears are around. You can scare it off before it gets into the smokehouse,” Lichwa said. Keeping bears from getting fish deters them from coming back.

But Lichwa stressed that fish isn’t the only food that could make bears remember your home. “Dog food or bird seed you know out in the yard or on the deck can be an attractant for bears. So keeping that stuff inside, if possible, or taking down bird seed during this time of the year is recommended,” she said.

Lichwa says bears can become protective of food sources they like, which gets dangerous for people and for pets. Shooting that bear is not always a legal option. “Defense of life and property is something that can be enacted, but it's not legal if it's been attracted by improperly stored garbage or food,” Lichwa said.

Lichwa advises that if bears do get close, it’s best to try to get to safety, either indoors or in a group with three or more people. Then, make noise to scare the bear away. If the bear is not threatening, keep an eye on it and try to figure out what attracted it. Then, fix the problem after the bear leaves.

Meg Duff is a fisheries reporter for KDLG's Bristol Bay Fisheries Report. She is also a freelance journalist, writing and making audio stories for publications like Scientific American, MIT Technology Review, Outside, Slate and Yale Climate Connections. Meg has a master's in journalism from New York University.