BY KAREN BOSSICK

Who says bears are in hibernation this time of year!?

Idaho Fish and Game biologists trapped a young black bear cub in Ketchum this past week and released it into the mountains north of Carey.

Several witnesses had reported the cub hanging out in downtown Ketchum, possibly getting caught up in the last-minute Christmas shopping.

Some of the reports noted that the bear was finding Christmas treats in residential garbage and helping himself to other food sources, such as bird feeders.

The young bear had started to show signs of wanting to den under decks, and that prompted Fish and Game to trap and relocate the bear to more suitable black bear habitat, said Terry Thompson, regional communications manager for Idaho Fish and Game Magic Valley Region.

“We gave this young-of-the-year bear a pass, if you will, because of its age and the hope that it won’t continue to seek out human food sources next year,” said Mike McDonald, Regional Wildlife Manager with the Magic Valley Region. “The bear had become food-conditioned, and our concern was that it would den inside city limits, then next spring, come out of hibernation and fall back into its learned behavior of finding human-sourced food, which could easily lead to a public safety issue.”

The bear weighed about 60 pounds, which is more than a young-of-the-year cub would typically weigh, said Thompson. Biologist surmise this was due to the amount of food the bear was noshing on in Ketchum.

Bears typically go into hibernation in part because food sources begin to dwindle as fall turns into winter. But bears that find human sources of food often delay or even forgo hibernation, said Thompson.

To prevent this, residents are asked to continue to secure their residential garbage carts in a garage or locked shed. Bird feeders should be taken down and secured in a garage or shed at night to discourage bears from finding an easy high-calorie food source.