A Halloween scare in Saugerties gave town officials last week a timely opportunity to make the public aware of an increase in wildlife visits from a potentially dangerous neighbor: Black bears.
Young trick-or-treaters in Barclay Heights spotted on the ground what they believed was one in a long line of creepy Halloween decorations, only to discover it wasn’t standard spooky fare at all.
“It turned out to be a hand that had been skinned,” said town supervisor Fred Costello. and there were still the bones and the meat held the bones together.”
A parent called the Saugerties Police upon realizing the find was more than just a grim prop, and officers quickly determined the hand was actually a bear paw.
“The outstanding question is, how did he get there?” Costello said.“It could be as simple as someone lawfully shot of bear and thought it would be funny, or it could be something malicious where somebody mutilated an animal.”
At a own board meeting held on Wednesday, November 5, council members took the opportunity to discuss what has been a dramatic increase in local bear sightings.
Councilwoman Leeanne Thornton recently attended a conference in New Paltz conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation called BearWise. The conference was open to all municipalities in Ulster County, and Saugerties was one of just three to attend.
“This was quite an experience,” Thornton said. “Two and a half hours of education all about black bears which have become frequent visitors to the village and town of Saugerties.”
In June of this year, the town added a BearWise page to their website (saugerties.ny.us/bears), which includes tips on how to deal with bears, as well as a link to the DEC BearWise website (https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/black-bear/management/bearwise)
“Basically, don’t leave bird feeders out,” Thornton said. “And composting piles attract bears…The bears are looking for food. There’s an old population of the bears and they’re hungry, and they’ve become socialized. They’re not afraid … they run through the village down Main Street.”
She cautioned that intentional or indirect feeding of bears is illegal under state law.
At the DEC BearWise presentation, Thornton said Town of Olive Supervisor Jim Sofranko had a tip to deter bears she’d never heard of before.
“Vicks VapoRub,” she said. “Apparently, he said he buys it and spreads it on where his bird feeders are on top of garbage cans, and bears don’t like the smell of it. So it’s a kind of an inexpensive way to maybe deter them. But basically, do not have the bird feeders out.”
Vicks or not, the best way to deter bears is to not give them a reason to come to your home.
“They’re looking for a food source,” Thornton said. “If you eliminate the food source, then the bears are not going to come back. As long as they think they can find a treat, they’re going to pay you a visit.”
In a separate interview with Hudson Valley One, Costello said the increase in bear sightings is down to a “reverse canary in a coal mine” situation.
“The population for bears has stabilized and is now growing again, and one of the side effects is that in their search for food and territory, there’s way more interaction with humans,” he said. “Overwhelmingly, those interactions are not eventful, but there is potential for harm.”
In addition to bringing in bird feeders, securing garbage and compost areas, and maybe spreading Vicks VapoRub around one’s property, securing doors and other entry points to the home is good advice, Costello said.
As for the Halloween mystery of the severed bear paw, it has yet to be solved. Costello said the investigation is still underway, but he isn’t confident there will be any resolution.
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