Dad sparks backlash after trapping wild bear in his truck: 'Could have resulted in serious injury'

An Oregon man took matters into his own hands when a young black bear started getting too comfortable in his neighborhood, sparking backlash from the community and wildlife officials. 

What's happening?

In Eugene, Oregon, a juvenile black bear was spotted near the Eastern and Southern sides of town getting close to people's homes. That prompted Oreon Crabtree, a self-described experienced outdoorsman and hunter, per The Register-Guard, to relocate the bear himself.

Crabtree admitted to the outlet, "I knew it was a dumb situation to put myself into but knowing that my kids are down at the park and my neighbors' kids are down at the park and that there's little dogs — something had to have been done with this little bear before someone got hurt."

He added that after herding it into a corner of a park, he called the police department, which told him to leave the bear alone unless it was actively causing harm. Crabtree wasn't satisfied with that answer and then coaxed the bear into a cage, put it in his truck, and took it out to a rural area outside of town and released it.

Beth Quillian, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), explained in a statement that Crabtree's "capture and relocation of this bear was dangerous and could have resulted in serious injury."

Why are these human-wildlife interactions concerning?

Bears wandering into human communities can become too acclimated and reliant on things like trash as a source of food, in what's known as "habituation." Quillian said bears have "remarkable memory and a keen sense of smell when it comes to food," and that can be passed on to the next generation. 

Eating human food has been shown to negatively impact black bears' gut health, according to a joint study by North Carolina State University and Northern Michigan University. 

"Feeding bears, whether intentional or accidental, can have long-lasting negative effects on multiple generations of bears. And this can lead to serious issues, including risks to human safety," Quillian said.

Human-bear interactions can lead to injury and death for humans and euthanasia for bears. Last year, two bears in Canada's Yukon province were put down after they showed "aggressive and food-conditioned behavior." It's an unfortunately common occurrence in the United States as well, with some bears euthanized before they even interact with humans. 

Crabtree told The Register-Guard he didn't want "human stupidity" to be the reason for the young bear to be put down, but experts agree his decision was dangerous at best.

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What's being done about bears in communities?

The best thing to do when bears or other wildlife are spotted in human communities is to keep your distance and call local authorities. There are plenty of services in place overseen by Fish and Wildlife departments in the U.S.; just search for a wildlife hotline in your area. Similar agencies and resources exist if you're traveling, like the 24-hour hotline in Spain to call in the bear patrol when one enters a neighborhood.

You can also take steps to discourage bears from seeking out food in your community by securing garbage and recycling, feeding pets indoors and keeping their food locked away, and removing bird feeders.

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