Numerous studies clearly demonstrate that bears’ biology is regulated by food availability. With plenty of food comes early maturation of females, more cubs per litter and higher cub survival rates. Hence, baiting, which the Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Department touts as a means to limit the bear population, has the exact opposite effect.
Bait piles grow Maine’s bear population past what would occur in nature and far beyond IF&W’s management goal. Last year alone, 7 million pounds of greasy, sugary bait were dumped into Maine’s woods to lure bears to certain sites in Maine’s woods. With access to easy, smelly calories, Maine’s bear population has jumped 30 percent in the last decade.
While IF&W promotes the practices of bear baiting, hounding and trapping, it concedes these methods aren’t successfully managing bears.
It’s really simple biology. If Maine’s bears lived on natural foods alone, there would be far fewer of them.
Ann Eagan
Portland
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