GREENWOOD —
Everyone knows that the United States Census was taken this spring to count the country’s human population.
What many don’t know is that another census of sorts is underway here in McCreary County.
Through funding from the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, the University of Kentucky’s Department of Forestry placed 126 “hair snares” across the county to determine the local black bear population.
In addition to UK and KFW, the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service are assisting with the snares, which consist of barbed wire triangulated around a tree cluster. With everything from sardines to peanut butter left as bait, officials check for hair that has been snagged by individual barbs.
The collected hair is then sent for DNA analysis to determine the number and sex of the bears in the area. The snares can “catch” the bears without physically detaining them.
“This study pairs something as low-tech as barbed wire with something as high-tech as DNA,” KWF Wildlife Biologist Mike Strunk said. “So far we know that all the bears here are from the Smokies and haven’t mixed with the population from eastern Kentucky yet.”
While the Pine Mountain population is well documented, no work has been done on the local population since the National Park Service released 14 females with cubs about 15 years ago.
As the years have passed, bear sightings have become more prevalent in local neighborhoods. While some sightings are never be reported, many nuisance complaints are reported to the McCreary 911 Dispatch Center — a practice that Fish & Wildlife would like to discourage.
“We don’t want to tie up a valuable resource like 911,” Strunk said, adding that it is still important to report sightings so his agency is aware of bear movement.
“Young males will expand out from the core population,” Strunk said. “It should look like a rifle target with concentric circles.”
The local bear population has grown enough that KFW has hired a new officer, Dwight Anderson, to handle complaints in Wayne, McCreary and Whitley counties. Also working closely with the agency is Sean Murphy, a UK graduate student who arrived in May.
In addition to the hair snares, officials have also placed some leg traps to detain bears. They cause no harm to the bear and are checked twice a day. If a bear is caught, it will be sedated and collared so it can be tracked to a den this winter. There reproductive rates, general health and habitat quality can be examined.
“We have healthy bears here compared to Harlan and Letcher counties,” Murphy said. “They are not feeding off dumpsters, which is something we don’t want.”
“Bears can quickly become conditioned to rewards,” Strunk added. “Ninety percent of conflicts are garbage-related. They adapt to us more quickly than we adapt to them.”
To report a bear sighting, call 376-8083 or 1-800-25-ALERT (1-800-252-5378).
Local News
Related Photos
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UK forestry grad student Sean Murphy and KFW Wildife Biologist Mike Strunk check a ‘hair snare’ for signs of black bears. Janie Slaven
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