{"id":42256,"date":"2026-10-04T03:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T03:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/42256\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T03:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T03:08:19","slug":"black-bear-activity-increases-in-maryland-as-they-prepare-for-hibernation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/42256\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Bear Activity Increases in Maryland as they Prepare For Hibernation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tBlack Bear Activity Increases in Maryland as they Prepare For Hibernation
\n\t\t\t\tSeptember 28, 2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Bear<\/p>\n

A black bear grabs a snack at Rocky Gap State Park. Photo by Ranger Sarah Milbourne.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Maryland Department of Natural Resources\u00a0reminds residents that black bears are beginning a period of increased feeding activity in preparation for winter hibernation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the leaves change and the weather cools, bears will travel across roads more frequently. They also can become more attracted to human-provided food sources and lose their natural fear of people, which can be dangerous for both people and bears.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the fall, bears need to consume far more calories than during the spring and summer, consuming in excess of 20,000 calories a day,\u201d\u00a0Wildlife and Heritage Service\u00a0Director, Karina Stonesifer, said.\u00a0\u201cTo keep everyone safe and our bears wild, residents should remove any food and attractants from their properties to mitigate potential human-bear conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents and visitors should note that keeping bird feeders, pet food, and trash in a place where bears can\u2019t get to them is the best way to avoid problems. Marylanders should also delay filling songbird feeders until the winter months to avoid attracting bears.<\/p>\n

Black bears in Maryland are concentrated in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington counties, but are known to roam into other northern and central counties, including densely populated areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since bears may travel many miles in search of food, motorists traveling in Maryland\u2019s western counties are reminded to watch for them crossing roads, especially during October and November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bears will begin entering dens in mid-November; and most will remain inside by mid-December.<\/p>\n

More information about living with black bears can be found\u00a0online, by calling 410-260-8540 or 301-777-2136, or visiting BearWise.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black Bear Activity Increases in Maryland as they Prepare For Hibernation September 28, 2026 A black bear grabs a snack at Rocky Gap State Park. Photo by Ranger Sarah Milbourne. The\u00a0Maryland Department of Natural Resources\u00a0reminds residents that black bears are beginning a period of increased feeding activity in preparation for winter hibernation.\u00a0 As the leaves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[3531,3529,3527,3530,3528],"class_list":["post-42256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-maryland","tag-maryland","tag-maryland-dining","tag-maryland-food","tag-maryland-grocery-stores","tag-maryland-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117380441906159027","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}