There were six bears that were visiting the Jack s River area almost daily, including a sow and her three cubs. We haven t seen the sow or the cubs in weeks, and the other bears seem to have moved back into the deeper forest environment, Gandy added. An increasing population of black bears within the North Georgia mountains have caused an increase in human-bear interactions over the past few years. According to Forest Service Recreation Staff Officer Larry Luckett, So far we have been lucky. We haven t had any injuries caused by these bear-human encounters in Georgia, however, there have been many reports of trashed campsites and ruined tents and coolers from bears raiding a site looking for food.
Bears are opportunistic by nature.
They want to find food with the least amount of effort. Many times, this easy meal is provided by campers or picnickers who don t properly store their food or dispose of their trash. Once a bear becomes accustomed to human food, they begin to associate humans with the reward of food and they lose their natural fear of humans. That s when the trouble begins, stated Luckett, Bears who don t fear humans almost always end up dead. The bears are easier prey for poachers.