The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

It appears that Sisters is going to the bears. Another black bear was spotted in the Land Trust Metolius Preserve last week.

A group of birders conducting a survey on the preserve ran head-on into a small black bear that was not out birding, as such, but perhaps searching for a tasty nest of roughed grouse eggs to start the day.

Unlike the unfortunate encounter with the young black bear that visited the Sisters area a week back, the Metolius Preserve bear hightailed it as soon as he/she encountered the birders.

Under normal conditions, that’s what you would expect a bear to do: get a whiff or sight of humans and go into the escape mode. The bear that had to be destroyed last week had none of those basic survival behavior characteristics.

With two bears wandering into the Sisters/Camp Sherman neck-of-the-woods it would be prudent for hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts to keep eyes and ears alert. Suggested behavior in case of a bear encounter is very similar to that of meeting up with a cougar: make lots of noise and let the animal know you are a human. Do not turn and run; bears can run and climb trees faster than people can. If you encounter a bear cub, do not approach it.

Mothers can be very aggressive in protecting their young.

After a sighting, call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (388-6363). Any information on these types of encounters is valuable information to ODFW and will lead to better management decisions for wildlife and humans.