Info on what you should do if you see a bear in your backyard! This week bears have been seen in Hastings & Scarsdale. Usually the DEC doesn't send teams to remove bears. they do when there is a dangerous situation. Phone number of DEC 845-256-3098
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE A BEAR IN YOUR BACKYARD---BEARS SEEN IN HASTINGS AND IN SCARSDALE THIS WEEK
Today, there was a bear sighting in Scarsdale. And two days ago there was a bear sighting in Hastings on Hudson (near Hillside Woods). I spoke with Wendy Rosenbach of the New York State DEC asking why bears have sometimes been removed by the NYS DEC and transported to another location and why DEC is not sending their team to remove the bear(s) that recently were seen in our vicinity. I was advised that NYS DEC only intervenes when bears pose a danger. In most cases they don’t.
I invited a bear biologist to make a presentation to the Greenburgh Town Board at our next Town Board meeting in two weeks. A few years ago they sent a biologist to the Town Board and discussed the coyote concerns residents have. Since that time the video has been shared with many people.
If you see a bear and have questions you can call the following DEC hotline: 845-256-3098 during business hours.
Briefly, DEC listens to what a caller has to say and gives them the advice to help them to know how to resolve conflicts and to how to prevent conflicts with bears and other wildlife. DEC tries to educate callers about black bear behavior and how to react if they encounter a bear. The best explanation of our response can be found in our "Black Bear Response Manual" which can be found on our website and by using this link:
https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/bearsopm.pdfPAUL FEINER