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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Ted Hancock <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:32:28 -0500
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Bears are like tax auditors, if  they find food they will keep coming back for more. So you can save yourself a lot of  trouble by not letting them get started in the first place. 

In my experience, once a bear gets a taste for beehives it is next to impossible to stop them with an electric fence. Maybe hives don’t taste as good in Florida, but if they do, I expect this bear will only be stopped by physical force (trapping or killing. I say killing rather than shooting because there are various ways to kill besides shooting. I once heard of an old Inuit hunter who killed a polar bear by baiting it with a chunk of frozen meat. The meat had been frozen with a sharpened whale bone bent inside it so that when the meat thawed out in the polar bears belly, the whale bone snapped straight killing the bear from the inside. Unfortunately, if you tried this in Florida I expect your neighbours lion would find the meat first and then you’d be in real trouble.)   

I am sure electric fences work just as well for grizzlies as they do for black bears.

Black bears vary in personality but almost all are shy and fearful of humans - in my experience. I am certainly no expert on the subject. Dave Tharle is an expert so hopefully he will share his wisdom.

If you have a problem bear they usually show up in the bee yard at dusk. Many are too shy to show up until you leave. 

I knew a beekeeper who went to his bee yard at dusk with his hired man to shoot a problem bear. They both had rifles. The bee yard was behind an abandoned log cabin. The two hunters split up with each approaching the bee yard from opposite sides of the cabin. As they emerged behind the cabin there was still enough light for them to see each other but the bear, which they had seen and heard as they approached, had disappeared. The two hunters approached each other along the back of the cabin with all their hunter senses tingling, alert for any sign of the bear. Unbeknownst to them, the bear was in the grass against the back wall of the cabin between them, with a half chewed frame of brood in it’s mouth. It decided to leave and ran over the beekeeper in the process of doing so.

Problem bears are often two year old bears that are having trouble finding their own hunting area. These young bears are often much bolder than their elders. I use flexi net fences and once had a two year old bear jump over it somehow. I have heard this can be prevented by anchoring back all your fence posts instead of just the corner posts. Fortunately the bear involved died and I have never bothered anchoring back anything but the corner posts. 

I have talked to beekeepers who have seen bears do somersaults over fences but I have not seen that myself. I expect a somersaulting bear would be a bear that knows what beehives taste like. You can bet they're thinking “Cowabunga!” as they somersault into your bee yard.

A sow with young cubs can also become problem bears. Cubs are very curious and will sometimes manage to slip under your electric fence. And if the cub is inside the fence there is nothing that is going to stop the mother from joining it.

They say if you are ever in the unfortunate situation of having to shoot a sow and her cubs you should always shoot the sow first. The cubs will automatically climb a tree and you can then catch them for the local zoo or something like that later. Don’t try and catch a cub with your bare hands. Even if you grab it from behind a bear cub has the ability of turning around inside its skin so that all the teeth and claws are facing in the wrong direction. Or so I’ve heard anyways. Can’t be sure about these things. Best ask Dave if you want to know for sure.   

Ted

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