Bear dogs scare bears away

Bears are very smart animals. They can figure out that rather than searching through the forest for food, a whole smorgasbord awaits them in the garbage cans, pet dishes, and bird feeders in suburban backyards.

Bears from the Cascade Mountains in Washington have become not just a nuisance, but a danger to themselves and the people living in the area.

Enter Mishka, the state’s wildlife service dog, to the rescue. Mishka is the first Karelians Bear Dog to be used in wildlife enforcement in the country. He is a medium size black and white Finnish Hunting Dog, trained to handle the bear problem.

Bear dogs like Mishka help wildlife officers in two ways:

• They can track down a bear hiding in the woods
• They help wildlife officials frighten the bear away from visiting people’s yards

In a “hard release,” the bear is tranquilized with a dart, tagged, and allowed to wake up where he is or moved a short distance away. Then as he regains consciousness, officers shoot rubber bullets and bean bags, set off fireworks and shout at the bear while the dog barks at him a safe distance away. As he escapes (probably with a really bad headache), the dog chases him deep into the woods away from civilization.

"We give 'em a chance to become a better bear," one official said. “If they come back, they're in trouble."

The old way of transporting the bear hundreds of miles away into the high country is more dangerous for the bear since they will not be familiar with the new area and may face starvation.

Over a lifetime each bear dog, who lives with his handler, costs about $10,000. Like most state agencies, there is not money to buy, care for, and train new bear dogs, so they must rely on private donations. More from the Seattle Times

Comments

[Khyra]

Furry khool!

We read about them a few years bakhk! My furiend Kira The BeaWOOtiful in Florida khould have used one fur her grandmom's bakhkyard a few weeks ago!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: Nice Tail Khurlllll!

[Carola, Porvoo, Finland]

Good choice. Karelian Bear dog is brave and independent. That´s why Bear dogs are not popular family dogs. (Luckily!) Back here in Finland the breed is mainly used for elk- and bear hunting.
The only colour approved is black/white.

[rosemary]

Umm, Violet is a good bear relocater doggie too...she barks like an idiot jumping totally off the ground...from a a safe distance....and then does her charge for a foot or so, then the bear laughs and wanders off and comes back later. Works with deer, moose and squirrels too...not with skunks however. She will cost a lot more than 10K...grooming, doggie perfume, eye stuff, sweaters for winter, new collars in fashion colors.etc.

[jackie]

i'm not sure i can see them justifying spending $10,000 to train a dog to chase a bear away..I'm thinking you could find some good dogs in the pound that could be trained to bark at a bear..how much work would it take to tell a dog..'look...bear...bark..???'

[Tom and Icy]

In the movies, the dog always win the fight with a bear, saving the humans.

[Tammy]

Wow! I've never heard of this breed of dog. That is pretty amazing! It's too bad the price tag is so high, I'm sure there are many areas that could use one of their own!!

[Blogdog]

That is a fascinating story. We had never heard of bear dogs before.

[C Ann Goering]

I have never heard of dogs being used for this purpose. Very interesting but that is a lot of money.