Wildlife Encounters with Bears and Fawns
By Marilyn Shy, Kalkaska Conservation District
I happened to be listening to the radio a few days ago when I heard a story about a bear that had been marauding the Meijer neighborhood in Traverse City. The DNR had just trapped the bear. It was one of those stories that grabbed my attention, so I was glued to every word.
Oddly enough, the night before, a different bear had visited my yard. I live on the Manistee River in southern Kalkaska County, and this has happened before. On that morning when I woke up, after 9 days on the road, I glanced out my window only to see that my bird feeder pole had been bent to the ground, a sure sign that a bear had visited. I had not noticed it that way when I arrived home the night before.
Of course I had taken down the sunflower feeders and the suet cakes before I left on my trip. The only feeder I left up was a tube feeder filled with thistle feed. Surely, I thought, bears would not be interested in these tiny seeds so beloved by the redpolls and goldfinches.
But I was wrong. The bear was able to break into the thistle feeder and snarf down every last little thistle seed inside of it.
This brings me back to the Traverse City bear. The DNR had been trying to capture the bear and remove it for months. They had tried all sorts of bait, from donuts to Dolly Madison fruit pies, to bacon, marshmallows, vanilla, even anise extract (which has a strong smell).
But what eventually lured the bear into the trap was: You guessed it, sunflower seed! And a couple of suet cakes. Which goes to show what powerful attractant bird feeders are to those hungry creatures, waking up ravenous after sleeping all winter.
So the moral of the story is easy: Take down your bird feeders! And that includes your thistle feeders as well.
And while you’re at it, check to see that other potential food sources are stowed away, things like pet food, trash cans, and barbecue grills. And be sure to clean the areas that might have food residue in them, like fire pits.
There are good reasons to discourage bears from getting close to your home. Those bears that begin to rely on human food often lose their natural fear of humans. A habituated bear is not easily scared out of an area and will continue to visit, looking for an easy meal.
Switching gears, let’s talk about another animal that is sometimes encountered in the spring, the heartbreakingly beautiful fawn.
In a short time, does will be giving birth, and thus, you may come upon a fawn while walking in the woods. They are often seen alone, their spots camouflaging them in the dappled shade. Your first inclination might be, this baby has been abandoned, what can I do to help it?
But fear not. It’s nature’s plan for a doe to leave her fawn or fawns alone during their first weeks of life. The reason is that fawns at this age are better protected away from the doe. The presence of the doe nearby might attract predators because the doe lacks the protective coloration of the fawn, and the older and larger doe has a much stronger scent.
A fawn that appears abandoned is merely awaiting a visit from its mom. A doe, after a brief period of feeding and grooming her fawn, will spend much of the day feeding and resting away from her young.
So if you find a fawn alone in the woods, leave it there. Its mother has not abandoned it, she is probably nearby.
It’s a delightful time for encountering animals in the woods, and more is in store: Wildflower and morel season is right around the corner!