Gorging bears are lounging on national park roads. Here’s how to keep them safe

Bears are making themselves really comfortable in a spot that could startle some national park visitors: the middle of the road.

Officials at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska posted pictures Monday on Facebook of bears lounging in the center of its muddy roads early in the morning.

“On frosty mornings some bears like to lay on our muddy road...?” the park said. “After the bear decides to move make sure to check your mirrors.”

Thousands of bears call Denali National Park and Preserve home, the National Park Service said on its website. More than 2,700 black bears live in the area, the Alaska Department of Fish and game found, as do more than 300 grizzly bears.

“In Alaska and in the park, you are in bear country,” the National Park Service said. “Grizzlies move along river corridors and ramble across tundra habitat, but may hunt spring moose calves in spruce forests.”

Bears in other national parks are looking for food to fatten up before winter. They are eating “nearly nonstop” in a process called hyperphagia, the National Park Service said.

Some bears can gain more than 3 pounds a day before hibernating, Yellowstone National Park said.

“During hyperphagia, bears are very active and many visitors have a chance to see them in action,” the National Park Service said. “But do not feed the bears! Bears that eat human food can lose their preference for natural food sources and their fear of humans.”

The extreme need for food can bring bears closer to tourists, even on roadways. Park officials are urging people to use good bear safety skills to move away slowly and sideways, and use caution on the roads.

In Big Bend National Park in Texas, park officials are urging tourists to slow down and go the speed limit because bears could be out and about. A bear cub was killed Friday after being struck by a car, park officials said.

“By observing the posted speed limit, you get a chance to see wildlife and the wildlife get a chance to move out of the way,” Big Bend National Park officials said.

This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Gorging bears are lounging on national park roads. Here’s how to keep them safe."