Following a recent black bear spotting in Fayette County, officials are urging Kentuckians to keep an eye out.
Wildlife experts warn that bears are most likely to roam across Appalachia, including eastern Kentucky, from June through August. The bears spotted are usually young males who are searching the area for a better habitat.
John Hast is the bear program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. He said Rowan County is in bear territory, and residents should be careful to not attract them.
“Maybe not downtown, but people living on the outskirts need to adopt the habit of securing the food sources. You know, we have several bear reports out of Morehead every year, so it’s nothing that those folks over there aren’t used to. But this is always a good time to remind people, hey, put the bird feeders in, secure your garbage somehow and just be mindful. It’s summer, bears are out,” said Hast.
Hast said the region bears roam has started to increase, but black bears are still very rare in more central parts of the state, like Lexington.
“They’ve moved, probably places like southern Madison County, and up around the Morehead area for sure. Going through the Red River Gorge area, those are places where bears are inhabiting on a daily basis. Somewhere like Fayette County, if you had to ask me right now, how many bears are in Fayette County, I’d probably tell you one. You know, they’re not moving that quickly and we’re still always going to have these pop-up sightings in strange places,” said Hast.
Hast explained bears rarely become aggressive, and they usually leave if they know humans are in the area, so hikers should make a reasonable amount of noise while in the woods to announce their presence.
More information about bear safety and resources can be found at bearwise.org, a website created by bear biologists in the southeastern US and State wildlife agencies.