4 Clear Clues A Bozeman Black Bear Is Casing Your House And Trash

Having bears show up in Bozeman city limits is nothing new, but it's a bit surprising that it still happens as much as it does. Sprawling growth, more people, more subdivisions - you'd think there might be too much in between the center of town and the mountains. Well, they're still totally comfortable wandering into the center of town and here's proof.

I'll cut to the chase: there's yet another black bear (or two?) spending their time on my street, getting caught on security cameras night after night. Plus they're pooping all over the place, so even without the cameras, we all know they're around. That black and white still photo of the bear was taken yesterday morning at 1am.

Without getting into too much detail, our neighborhood backs up to a major roadway and is located within City of Bozeman limits. There is quite a bit of open space nearby, but nobody would consider this area 'rural' in the least. Yet every year we have bear activity. They're not hesitant whatsoever of roaming up and down our streets, checking out the decks and porches, and of course - the trashcans.

"A Fed Bear Is A Dead Bear" - words that can't be repeated enough around Montana, especially with new residents every year. Leave the bears alone, and do your absolute best to give them no reason to hang out at your house. Obviously, they'll check things out but it's guaranteed they'll camp out near an easy food source.

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It can be a real pain to "protect" your trash in the Fall, but think of it as protecting the bears. In fact, we go so far as to wait until the very last minute on trash days to put the garbage out to the street. Other than that, that blue COB garbage can stays in the garage. Could a bear break into the garage? Absolutely...and that would suck for us and the bears, but at least we're minimizing their access to an easy food source.

If you had any birdfeeders out for the summer, it's time to put them away. Anything you've got around your property that might be a food source to to bears - consider making it go away. (Does your landscaping have berries that bears eat? People forget that one all the time.)

And to close on a light note - the 4 signs of bear activity at your house are: 3 huge piles of poop on your lawn and weird grunting and breathing outside your bedroom windows at night. At least that's what we joke about on our street. Get to know your neighbors if you don't already and exchange phone numbers. You may never be best friends but having a "bears in the basura (trash)" text chat is extremely helpful. Trust me.

REMEMBER WHEN A BEAR ROAMED BOZEMAN SENIOR HIGH?