11/9/2023 0 Comments Ithaca voice![]() Black bears also like to munch on corn in the fall to fatten up before they hibernate in the winter, Curtis said. ![]() They also, obviously, love honey, so beekeepers have to be on alert or invest in electric fences, which are supposed to be an effective deterrent to protect their hives. “But when they’re hungry, they will come to food sources and, naturally, that’s what gets them in trouble.”īears wil treat their taste buds to compost, trash, or even a grill if it’s left uncleaned. The Ithaca Voice is a nonprofit digital news site with a mission to improve civic and political understanding in Ithaca and Tompkins County by publishing and sustaining in-depth, educational, rigorous, timely and ethical journalism that all residents can access free of charge online. “Bears typically don’t want to be around people, they try to avoid people as much as possible,” Curtis said. ![]() Experts recommend that when people have a surprise encounter with a black bear they shouldn’t run, but shout and make a lot of noise, and try to make themselves look large. Beginning the 2023 season doing play-by-play is Chris Brown who is filling in for the long time Voice of the Bills John Murphy. Whether it’s a snippet of one roaming through a yard, or the aftermath of a bear having its way with a bird feeder, an air of excitement with a tinge of caution accompanies each post.īlack bears are not aggressive unless provoked or cornered. On social media groups, like the “Danby/South Hill Community” FaceBook group, neighbors have been sharing videos of their celebrity encounters with their local black bears. “They’re definitely on the ascendancy,” Danby Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon said. But with the growth of forested corridors, the black bear populations in the Southern Tier and Catskills have built a stable exchange, said Curtis, and the expectation is that the same thing will happen with the population in the Adirondacks. Thirty to forty years ago black bears lived in three distinct populations in New York state: in the Catskills, in the Adirondacks, and in the forested hills of the Southern Tier. There were almost no wild turkeys in Tompkins County because there were no forests to support them,” Curtis said.Īs trees return to previously deforested areas, the bear population is only expected to grow. The 41st Annual Apple Harvest Festival Weekend is here The festivities kick off at noon on Friday on the Ithaca Commons and surrounding blocks, and run through Sunday evening, with food and craft vendors on. “At one point, there were no deer in Tompkins County. Fall fare, live music, free weekend parking, maybe even a few apples as Apple Harvest Festival hits Downtown Ithaca. Now woods and forests cover between 65 to 75% of the county. Curtis said that historical records show that just 5% of the county was forested at its lowest point. Timber harvesting and agriculture dominating land use in the Southern Tier, eliminated the viable habitat for bears and pushed them out. Paul Curtis, a wildlife specialist in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. The black bear’s disappearance and return to the area has everything to do with the reforestation that has occurred in the county since the 1920s and 30s, said Dr.
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