VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Ever wondered the answer to the age-old question: 'Does a bear poop in the woods?' Well, the Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation can confirm they do in fact do their business in the woods.
VBPR released footage last Wednesday showing a mother black bear and her cubs in protected aread owned by the parks & rec.
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“Black bears are not vastly different from any other wildlife around us. They don’t pose any major risk to human safety, even kids and old people,” said DWR District Biologist Pete Acker in a release by VBPR. “Bears are neat to get to see, and they coexist well with humans – especially when they aren’t being rewarded by coming around homes and businesses with food commonly found in trash cans and bird feeders.”
Black bears are generally shy and avoid contact with people, but the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources has steps to avoid such interactions. The DWR recommends:
- Securing food sources
- Removing bird feeders and any pet food from the outdoors
- Keep bears away from residential areas
“The downside to bears becoming habituated to human food sources isn’t that they’ll start attacking people. It’s that they’ll keep hanging around more and more, and it becomes a dangerous situation for the bear as they behave less like a wild animal and more like a pet,” added Acker. “That behavior is hard to unlearn, and they could eventually need to be removed if that were to happen.”
