Continuing high levels of conflicts between humans and black bears in the Sierra have prompted wildlife managers to investigate a variety of methods to reduce these interactions. The goal is to keep the bear population wild and to retrain conditioned bears to subsist on natural food, rather than human food. In order to achieve this, rangers provide intensive visitor education, strict food storage regulations, and are now experimenting with reconditioning of bears. Aversive conditioning is not a substitute for proper food storage.

Bears are intelligent creatures and can learn from negative experiences. Other agencies have been successful in retraining conditioned bears using loud noises, rubber bullets, and dogs.

During your visit to the Sierra, you may see and hear rangers patrolling public areas for bears. You may hear rangers yelling at and chasing bears. You may also see or hear rangers using a shotgun to shoot noisemakers or rubber projectiles at bears. The intent is not to harm the bear, but to scare it from the area and restore its natural fear of human by providing a negative experience. Legal restrictions and safety considerations restrict the use of these techniques to trained rangers.

Wildlife biologists design aversive conditioning strategies based on cost-effectiveness, staffing levels, and safety and environmental considerations. While these techniques can be highly effective, they are only successful if human food is not available. Make sure you store your food properly!