bears in iowa
it is important to know if you are in bear country
i am banned from continuing to explain how many black bears there are in iowa now posted Oct 23, 2024
how did this happen?
well, it is important to know if you are in bear country
while we were pitching our tent, @TV4Fun@raphus.social asks: “are there bears in iowa?” because if so, we have to be a lot more careful about food – especially dog food. my initial response was, “i don't remember there being many bears iowa like a few rare black bears, but super rare.”
but of course, this is insufficient information on wild animal populations. i am hungry for data.
so, a cursory internet search
“there have been 49 confirmed black bear sightings in iowa,” i say.
“so there are 49 black bears in the whole state?” i'm asked.
“well, no, i'm not sure if duplicated sightings are being counted,” i say. “so it's probably less than 49.”
“okay, so there's might be less than 49. but sightings over how over how long?”
this is crucial information, of course.
“uhhhh since 2002. so yeah, less than 49.”
i continue to consume the data. DNR reports fuel me. they taste good.
“see, black bears were extirpated in iowa quite some time ago.”
“extirpated?” my travel companion asked.
“yes,” i say, as if there is no need to define the word and i have successfully communicated information. “there are probably less than six black bears in iowa right now.”
“less than six, okay, so we are probably fine not bear-proofing the dog food container,” my travel partner says, trying to extract the useful information from my words.
“yes,” i confirm. “probably. at least four, though. so between four and six. they were extirpated from iowa, but wisconsin and minnesota have significant populations.”
“oh,” my travel partner says, finally starting to understand what i mean with the word exirpate from context. “so the bears come in from other states. still, we should be fine.”
he's still trying to apply the data i am consuming. i ignore this inconvenience.
“no, at least four of the bears are now considered native,” i push on. “but bears can have large foraging territories so there might be transient bears. some also think that there might be an undercount, and there could be as many as-”
“you are no longer allowed to discuss bears.”
the words are heavy and push past my DNR data-addled brain. the bear data will now have to live inside of me, but cannot be spoken.
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