Experts issue warning over concerning trend in bear encounters: 'Becoming increasingly scarce'

As humans develop into formerly wild areas, encounters between people and bears are growing more common.

People living in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan are likely to see more bears, and conservationists are urging them to keep interactions to a minimum. 

Humans and bears may be forced to coexist as the bears lose their land. As Fox2 Detroit reported, "Available land in the Upper Peninsula is becoming increasingly scarce as more acreage is developed."

What's happening?

According to Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, there are around 2,000 bears living in the Lower Peninsula, including Grand Rapids and Traverse City. 

Residents of the Lower Peninsula were advised to take proper precautions. These include being aware that they may run across bears and making sure food isn't easily accessible. 

Bears are intelligent animals and learn to return to areas where they can easily find food. To keep bears from returning to residential areas, proper food storage is crucial. This includes everything from garbage to bird seed. 

Why is bear conservation important?

According to the Animal Welfare Institute, humans and bears can coexist with care and understanding of bear behaviors.

But it's also important to address why bears are moving. Human population growth, expansion into bear habitats, and resource depletion from the changing climate are a few components that can bring bears into contact with people. 

Protecting our natural environments is the best way to protect people from potentially risky wildlife interactions. It will also preserve biodiversity, ensuring that ecosystems can continue to exist.

Our warming climate is a problem for bears. For one, scientists have found that some black bears in North America are delaying or skipping hibernation. These behavior shifts can mean anything from more potential interactions with humans to food system changes that can alter entire ecosystems. 

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One such ecosystem shift is the appearance of the "grolar" bear, a hybrid of a grizzly bear and a polar bear. These two types of bears used to have two distinct habitats, but the effects of the changing climate forced the animals to move in new ways and led to this new type of bear.

What's being done about bear conservation?

Many organizations around the globe are doing important work in bear conservation. Some have met great success: the Louisiana Black Bear has bounced back from being on the verge of extinction. In Spain, the Bear Patrol is working to keep brown bears safe.

Peaceful coexistence is important for bear conservation throughout the United States, as the famous grizzly bear is currently categorized as a threatened species. 

You can also take a few minutes to learn basic bear safety to let these animals continue their important role in our ecosystems.

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