What About the Bears? Part II: A Survey

Since last Friday’s edition of the Banner-Tribune, when we published three stories on the subject of the Louisiana Black Bear in St. Mary Parish, we have seen an abundance of shares and replies to those articles on social media.
Having presented the side of the officials involved in dealing with nuisance bears, we feel it is very important to hear from those who are experiencing interactions with the animals and the problems they have encountered.
We polled the readers of our Facebook page and received an abundance of replies.
Here are the results:
Tracey Charpentier: I’m tired of picking up trash. I want a bear proof can!
Angela Hoffpauir Johnson: We have bears constantly on La. 182 in Verdunville and John Street. They have figured out how to open the bear proof cans and they scatter the trash everywhere. It needs to stop.
Michelle Cuvillier: Got our trash Saturday night bags of trash scattered all over the place, 135 Sydney Lane in Centerville. This is happening all the time now. (Has not received a new waste container.)
Jeannie Thibodaux Segura: On behalf of Prairie Road Circle, Martin Road, Boudreaux Road and Prairie Road, the bears are bad! Pretty much daily you can drive down the roads and see garbage everywhere. Cans knocked over, garbage in the roads, ditches and fields. We are told to not put our cans out until the morning of pickup day. Well sometimes they (waste collection truck) pass at 5 a.m. so if we wait we get skipped. They came around and randomly gave out bear cans. Not everyone has gotten them. We never received a bear proof can. We’ve been promised since the summer of 2016 that we would be getting them. I’ve done everything I could to keep them from coming to my house but once my can is at the road and I go to bed it’s out of my control. Something needs to be done! They are getting too comfortable and someone is going to get hurt.
Rosalyn Romero: I think they are becoming over populated. Need to open bear season!
Josh Joanie Luke: On Cane Road, everyone received a bear proof can except for our house and the house across the street. So now every night it seems that the bear comes to our garbage cans and drags trash everywhere. Not sure why everyone but two houses would receive a bear proof can on the same road.
Tina Moore Mason: They are on Cane Road n Centerville often, not just trash days. It’s a big one, I have big foot prints under my carport from it. (Has new waste containers)
Lauren Pillaro Comeaux: On behalf of Linda Lane in Franklin (Irish Bend) our bear is getting tough to deal with. We understand living “near the country” that we will have wildlife and love our wildlife. The bear are different. They are large and not frightened of people. Our bear that has taken residence is very comfortable with loud noises or scare tactics. We have had a visit from Wildlife and Fisheries which resulted in telling us to take down bird feeders. This bear has never once even gone near the bird feeder. Most of us have cameras on our property and have never caught our bear going near the bird feeder. We have all taken extra measures on securing our trash cans since we do not have bear cans. My family does not use the Pelican Service since it is unreliable. We bring our own trash straight to the dump often to keep it empty yet the bear still returns pretty much nightly. The bear has also been known to roam during the day. Again, no loud noises usually scare him away and if it does, he returns moments later. I do not want the bear killed but our problem is the size of this animal and him not being afraid of humans or human activity. We have numerous calls into (the parish) bear department and no neighbors have gotten calls back. Wildlife and Fisheries have told us not to contact them but to contact the Sheriff’s Offices every time he comes. I have chosen to stop calling because we feel that our deputies have other things with humans they should be handling and not ANIMAL complaints. The system needs to change and new tactics need to be used.
Rosalyn Romero: Just Sunday morning one got our trash can at the road. It took all the bags of trash across the street and had trash everywhere. I live on La. 182 in Centerville. (Does not have new waste container)
Lisa Pace Nugent: We are directly across from Cane Road. The bear comes down Cane Road and crosses into our yard. It yanked on part of my porch and broke the railing. I would love to know the count of bears in St Mary parish. Too many per square mile!
Donald Hahn Sr.: I live at 52 Main Street Franklin on the outskirts. Seen the bear one night and he’s a big boy, he looked me dead in my eyes (as if) “I’m going to look through your garbage can so you go on.” I went inside, he emptied the garbage can next morning and I picked it up.
Angela Brightwell: John Street in Verdunville is where I live. We have them very often and can get within five feet from them and they are not scared. They see people all the time now. We have done everything suggested and then some to no avail. It’s sad to say but we are used to it now. We just run out when we see or hear them and scare them off. They always come back. I am at the point now that I have just learned to live with them but it is very aggravating to have to pick up garbage. And yes they know how to get into the “bear proof” cans, all of them! Ours has a name now, Yogi!
Greg Pellerin: I live on Hwy. 182 just before the Centerville Bridge. We have been having problems with bears as well. I actually found one that made himself a home under our carport right by the steps. He didn’t move until I went outside and chased him off. He has come by numerous times, knocking over the garbage can and leaving trash all over the place. Just this past weekend I was clearing some overgrown brush behind home and startled the bear, which ran off. This was in broad daylight. These bears are not scared of humans and are becoming too comfortable around our homes. I fear that there will be an attack eventually, and when that happens I guess it will be our own fault because we taste like chicken. (Does not have new containers: “No one on our end has the new containers. The one I currently have is busted up from a while back when the garbage pickup was still automated. My can has more cracks in it that our roadways.”)
Toddy Boudreaux: I called Wildlife and Fisheries about the bear coming on my porch by my door. I tried to scare it away and it didn’t care about me. So I told them if it breaks my door and comes in my house I will kill it. That same day a game warden showed up at my house. Somehow it was reported that I told them I was baiting the bear to kill it. The bear knocked over some dog food in my yard so they wrote me a warning for having dog food and bird feeders in my yard and I had to pick it up. I have been dealing with this for three years now. I have called for three years now. They tell me how to bear poof my yard but don’t tell me what they are going to do about it. I would like for them to explain to me how humans got knocked down the list and bears are on top. People tell me I live on their land but I have been living there for more than 20 years. They keep telling me what they don’t think these bears are not going to do, but they can’t be sure. It’s like they are waiting for someone to get hurt or worst before they see there is a problem. My wife walks our dogs in the morning with a gun. We should not have to do that.