1st rule if you’re in Arizona’s bear country: Keep food out of reach

• The Arizona Game and Fish Department is warning people to be “bear aware” this Memorial Day weekend.
• Human food is the most common cause of conflicts, as bears search for the 5,000 calories they need daily.
• To stay safe, secure all food and trash, and never keep food inside a tent when camping.

Smokey Bear will not just be watching for fires this Memorial Day. He might be watching for food, too. 

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is warning outdoor recreationists to stay “bear aware” through the long weekend. 

Food is the most common culprit of human-bear conflicts, according to the wildlife agency. Bears can show up to campsites, parks, even grocery stores in search of something tasty — they’ll eat just about anything in pursuit of the 5,000 calories they need a day during the summer, officials say.

“Bears are dangerous. They might look cute or cuddly, but they certainly have the capacity to inflict harm on humans,” said Paul Greer, a wildlife manager supervisor at the Game and Fish Department’s Region 1 office in Pinetop, in a May 20 news release. 

But black bears are also shy and secretive. Available human food can lure them out of their forested hideaways, especially during dry periods like late spring, early summer and Arizona’s prolonged drought, which limit their natural food supply. 

This Memorial Day weekend, revelers should be mindful of not leaving any food outdoors. That includes trash, barbecue grills, pet food and birdseed.  

“If humans do their part, then the bears may pass through without getting the reward of those attractants, the trash and the human sources of food — the bears will just move on,” Greer said. 

Wildlife: As Arizona’s drought persists, black bears are abandoning their cubs

Bears learn to hunt for human food

Each March, black bears emerge from their winter hibernation, sometimes with new cubs in tow. 

About 5,800 roam across 10,000 square miles of nontribal lands in Arizona, mostly in the northern and eastern parts of the state where the Sonoran Desert gives way to pinyon pine, juniper and oak woodlands. They are most concentrated along the Mogollon Rim, the Mazatzal Mountains and the Pinaleño Mountains. 

Bears are usually active in the morning and evening, foraging for their usual fare — berries and nuts. But a few develop a taste for something more. It’s rare for bears to show aggression toward people, but bears that become accustomed to humans and human food can be public safety risks. 

“When bears gain access to human food or garbage, it can quickly lead to food conditioning, where bears begin associating people and developed areas with an easy meal,” said Sarah Sparhawk, a public affairs specialist at the National Park Service. 

There have been two deadly bear attacks on humans in Arizona since the 1990s. The most recent was in 2023 in Prescott. 

Michael Colaianni, a public affairs director at the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said apart from a few typical reports of bears spotted on private land, there are no recent bear incidents or injuries in Arizona to report at this time. 

Bears in the woods: Mother bear and cub released back into the wild after capture in Crown King

Here’s how to stay safe from bears

Bear safety tips to keep in mind this weekend:

• Keep food secure and inaccessible to bears.
• When camping, don’t keep food in a tent and don’t burn leftover food on a grill.
• When hiking, don’t wear scented lotion or perfume, keep pets on a leash and make noise or hike in groups.
• In case of a black bear encounter, do not run or play dead. Instead, back slowly away while maintaining eye contact. Make yourself look bigger by waving your arms in the air or pulling your shirt/jacket up over your head.
• If attacked, fight back.
• If you see a bear in your neighborhood, do not approach it.

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Unacceptable bear behavior, such as entering or attempting to enter human dwellings, tents or vehicles, approaching a human after it becomes aware of the human’s presence and any other aggressive behavior should be reported to the Game and Fish Department’s dispatch center at 623-236-7201. In an emergency, call 911.

Sarah Henry covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to sarah.henry@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

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