“Everybody around here has a black bear story,” says Beth Kuhn.
And Kuhn has likely heard them all. As outreach coordinator for the Rivanna Master Naturalists, the local chapter of the state’s master naturalist program, Kuhn helps deploy a cadre of volunteers to teach Living With Black Bears. Because in Virginia, black bears are our neighbors—and we need to know how to co-exist with them.
The impetus for the Living With Black Bears program started with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Over the last decade, DWR saw an increase in calls to its Wildlife Conflict hotline from people reporting concerns about black bears—more than its 16 wildlife biologists, who cover the entire state, could handle. These calls weren’t about bear attacks; they were from people who saw bears in their area, or in their yard, or (worse) on their back porch.
Courtney Hallacher, DWR’s statewide wildlife education coordinator, is also the state coordinator for Project WILD, a national program designed to train people interested in wildlife and conservation to be community educators. In 2022, Hallacher and the master naturalists developed the Living With Black Bears presentation to educate people about their ursine neighbors.
“We want to give people ways to minimize human-bear conflict,” Hallacher explains. “Most of our bear interaction calls can be managed with preventive measures.”
Black bears were once plentiful in Virginia, but hunting and habitat loss severely reduced their numbers. By 1900, the only groups remaining were in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Dismal Swamp. And, because those two areas were isolated, inbreeding and population crash was a real threat.
When DWR was established and set hunting regulations in 1916, it outlawed bear hunting to help the population recover. Other factors helped too: more public lands and state parks increased open space for bears to live and move around freely, and reforestation and oak tree maturation expanded habitat and food sources. There are now black bears everywhere in the state except the Northern Neck and Eastern Shore, and the first bear hunting season opened in 1930.
More bears is good news, but it means they are more likely to run into humans. And while children happily cuddle with Teddy, Pooh, and Paddington, most adults are terrified at the thought of meeting an actual bear.
The first step in lowering fear of bears is knowing that black bears, unlike grizzly and polar bears, are not as much predators as they are foragers. The black bear’s diet is 75 percent vegetarian—plants, berries, roots, acorns and other nuts; its meat intake is largely insects, small rodents, the occasional rabbit or fawn, and perhaps a little roadkill. (In fact, black bears eat bee hives not so much for the honey as for the protein- and fat-rich bee larvae inside.)
Above all, a black bear is seeking to pack on the pounds. A bear might eat a bunny or fawn if it happens upon one, but you won’t see a bear stalking or chasing prey—that uses up too many calories. “Black bears are after the easiest food, which is not us,” says Hallacher. “Humans are not food, they are around food.”
Getting hefty is important for bears in two seasons: fall, when they need to build fat reserves for the winter denning season, and spring, when they emerge skinny and hungry. Females birth and nurse their cubs while denning, so you can imagine how hungry they are when they come out.
“Black bears need to take in 20,000 calories per day as they prepare for winter denning,” Hallacher explains. “They are super curious, and super opportunistic.” In their search for calories, black bears—whose sense of smell is 100 times better than a dog’s—may find their way into our backyards. Bird feeders full of energy-rich nuts and seeds; high-protein, high-calorie pet food left outside; trash cans full of tossed-out human food; trees full of ripe fruit; meat-smelling outdoor grills—these are powerful attractants.
Black bears are also intelligent. They remember their food sources, and develop a feeding routine in their territory. And if that includes your bird feeder, or a neighborhood’s trash cans, they will incorporate those places into their route. The result is a bear that’s habituated to being around humans.
“Black bears will naturally avoid humans,” says Hallacher. “They are skilled at moving through forests and shrubs, so they may be around and you don’t see them.” But if your house is on their food source list…
DWR’s materials offer several solutions to discourage a habituated bear. The first step is to remove the attractant: Take down your bird feeder, bring your pet food inside, keep your trash in a closed garage or use a bear-proof garbage can. If that’s not enough, the next step is an electric fence set up to interrupt the bear’s access. Then comes harassment—bright lights, loud noises, even a little buckshot in the bear’s padded rear. DWR stresses that these measures have to be applied consistently and over several weeks—because if they don’t discourage the bear, the final step is euthanasia.
“Lots of people think we can tranquilize a bear and relocate it,” says Hallacher. “But relocation doesn’t work. Black bears will travel hundreds of miles to get back to their territory, running the risk of more conflict—most likely with vehicles as they cross roadways.”
This is where Living With Black Bears comes in. The local master naturalist chapters will set up sessions to provide information and tactics for people who have seen bears—or don’t want to see them—in their neighborhoods.
Michelle Prysby, senior specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension and director of the Virginia master naturalist program, says, “This is exactly what master naturalists are here to do. Education and outreach is a big part of our mission, and this program provides not just the training but also the tools—the slides, handouts, contacts—to inform the public.”
In its first year, Living With Black Bears trained volunteers in the four Shenandoah chapters where bear conflict calls were highest. Now 18 chapters, including Rivanna’s, have black bear educators.
Prysby gave the Living With Black Bears presentation to her neighborhood association, and she and RMN member Janelle Catlett held a session at DuCard Vineyards in 2024 as part of its event series. Catlett and Kuhn have also done several tabling events (where RMN volunteers staff tables to provide information on a variety of wildlife topics, including black bears) at gatherings from the Albemarle County Fair to the Apple Harvest Festival at Albemarle CiderWorks.
RMN volunteer Jack Day did the black bear educator training after “I learned the hard way—I was living in Lake Monticello, and bears took down my bird feeders.” Day was active on the neighborhood’s wildlife education committee, so he proposed giving the Living With Black Bears presentation for the community. “We probably had three or four dozen people come,” he recalls, “so it went over well.”
Day also enjoys doing tabling events. “There we can answer questions and share experiences—like once I was up north, and I saw what I thought was a young Labrador running in the woods. I clocked him at 35 miles an hour, and then he turned sideways and I realized, ‘That’s not a dog.’”
Like Kuhn says, everybody has a black bear story.
Bears’ necessities
The best way to avoid a bear is to make a little noise: jingle your keys, talk, or sing. Usually bears will smell you and move away, long before you know they are nearby. And when you’re out in bear country, leave your ear buds at home.
Never run from a bear. That can trigger its defense instincts—and black bears can run 30 to 35 miles an hour. If you do encounter a bear, back away slowly.
A bear standing erect is not being aggressive, it’s trying to get a better look or a better sniff. Don’t do anything to frighten or aggravate it. Back away slowly.
Trees are a bear’s safe space, not yours. Bears can climb a tree much faster than you can.
As for getting between a mother bear and her cubs, it’s unlikely. As soon as she smells you, she will alert her cubs to climb a tree. Never pick up what appears to be an orphan cub—the mother may be nearby. If the cub is injured, call a wildlife rehabilitation expert like the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro.
If you are walking with your dog in bear country, keep your dog on a leash (not the extendable kind). Almost all human-bear conflicts in which someone gets hurt involve dogs.
To report issues with black bears, call the Virginia Wildlife Conflict Hotline at (855) 571-9003 or email vawildlifeconflict@usda.gov.
To request a Living With Black Bears presentation, contact Beth Kuhn, outreach coordinator for Rivanna Master Naturalists, at blackbeareducation@yahoo.com.
