Fulton County – On April 28, ECOs and DEC Division of Wildlife employees responded to reports of a sick bear in the village of Northville. DEC personnel observed the adult female bear appearing to suffer from advanced mange that caused severe weight and hair loss. Due to the bear’s poor physical condition, DEC experts determined rehabilitation and release were unlikely and humanely euthanized the animal.
DEC reminds New Yorkers that throughout the spring and early summer months, black bears have depleted fat reserves and will search extensively for easily obtainable, calorie-dense foods, which can lead to an increase in the potential for human-bear conflicts near homes and residential areas, especially before the spring green-up when natural food sources for bears are scarce.
DEC advises New Yorkers to reduce the potential for human-bear conflicts to protect bears and themselves by practicing BearWise basics, which includes securing or storing garbage and recycling cans in a sturdy building, cleaning and removing residual grease and food from grills and smokers, and keeping pet and livestock food indoors.
To contact an ECO to report an environmental crime or to report an incident, call 1-844-DEC-ECOS for 24-hour dispatch or email (for non-urgent violations).
I once rescued a dog with severe mange…although his hair never really grew back in he was able to recover from it. And he lived for many years with the rest of our dog/cat family. Was killing this bear truly the only option, given that this is a skin issue suffered by many dogs/cats that is routinely resolved by medical intervention with the aid of a vet?
I think if you live in the wild a bear probably needs its coat. But maybe not?
My dog’s coat grew back in patchy but it did grow back in somewhat. Perhaps you’re right about his coat not being able to protect him in the wild. Thanks for your reply.
The last sentence is the reason,humans. “Mange in bears is a skin disease caused by parasitic mites, specifically Sarcoptes scabiei. It leads to intense itching, hair loss, thickened skin, and can be fatal if left untreated. Bears with mange may exhibit hairless patches, crusty skin, and altered behavior, including becoming more approachable to humans and more prone to seeking food near human structures”.
Good point. Thank you for responding with a better understanding of the situation. It of course would be worse if intervention would have left the bear off in worse circumstances.
stephanie,
“Due to the bear’s poor physical condition, DEC experts determined rehabilitation and release were unlikely and humanely euthanized the animal.”
I believe the key words here are “poor physical condition”. If the bear needs to be darted, sent to a vet for treatment, then sent to a rehab center to recover, it is very unlikely it can be released after recovery as a “wild” bear. It will have lost any inhibition of being around humans. Not a good result as euthanization will likely be the eventual solution anyway. It is difficult to accept, but we also need to be realistic with any intervention with wild creatures.
Another point is that an animal in poor condition could actually die from being darted. TV shows make it look pretty casual, but there is risk involved with ANY sedation method.
Good point…but if killing the bear was already being considered then attempting to sedate seems like a reasonable option to try…if it doesn’t work then the worse case scenario happened from the sedation instead of a shot to euthanize.
stephanie,
Sedation is only the first step. Let’s assume it is successful – how do you treat an animal without it becoming dependent on humans? Sure it CAN be done, but it is likely to never go back to its wild state, which will very possibly end up in euthenasia not long after release as it loses its fear of humans and realizes humans = easy, reliable food source. And this after considerable time/expense has been expended by groups with finite resources. It would be one thing if these were rare or endangered species where it was critical to save every individual, but this is usually not the case in this area.
DEC and other wildlife concerns around the world have a good feel for when to pull the plug on an animal. Is it heartless? Yes and no. Same with deciding when to put a pet down or taking a loved one off of life support. When are you TRULY helping the animal, or when are we just making ourselves feel better with extraordinary measures? What is allowing Nature to run its course, and what is unnatural intervention? There are no right or wrong answers here, but I am trying to help you see different sides of the problem.
You probably didn’t mean it that way B, but it’s sad that some people DO conflate ‘deciding when to put a pet down’ and ‘taking a loved one off of life support’. These two things should never be in the same sentence.
Every year my trail cam behind my house increasingly documents deer with moderate-severe mange and skin tumors. While likely warming winters is part of the equation, local increases in mange is almost certainly due to too many deer causing over-concentration of the local population. This decreases food supply and increases the chances of disease transmission. More effective population control would be the answer – whether by hunting, culling, larger predators, and local sterilization programs.
I would assume similar disease dynamics are in play for bears.
Why do you say that “warming winters” has anything to do with this? Are you seeing some measurable change in what you see on the cameras over years? Or is this just the usual blame something on climate change going on with no actual real data?
Well, because winters have been warmer over the last 25 years. Less deer winter kill. Increased tick and other invertebrate survivabilty over the winter.
I know – that it doesn’t mean that it has anything to do with this or what you are seeing on your trail cameras. I am just saying that this certainty you mention may not be certain at all:
“mange is almost certainly due to too many deer causing over-concentration of the local population”
Maybe, but who knows? Not sure why you are so certain with just some anecdotal evidence, that’s all I am saying.
Thats right Paul. The staunch left wing environmental crowd will blame pretty much everything on climate change or President Trump, not always in that order!
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/warming-winters-across-united-states
For better or worse, winters are warming, including in the North.
Not an article about whether mange is influenced by weather, but about the whole ‘warmng climate is caused by man’ schtick. Check it out. https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/05/climate_dogma_and_the_ignorance_of_experts.html
Southern animal and plant species are gradually moving north because taxes are better?? Get real people. Deny all you want – it doesn’t mean we have to take you seriously.
And the staunch MAGA crowd will deny science and blame the left liberals for everything that they think is wrong with this country.. It’s too bad that a discussion of a dead bear results in political commentary.
Seems like disputing what even that “far left rag USA Today” record heat etc goes against what Adirondacks should stand for, i.e. “science.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/05/14/minnesota-wildfires-heat-wave-evacuations/83618406007/
Three wildfires in northern Minenesota
“fueled by a recent wave of dry heat that brought near record-breaking temperatures to the Northern Plains.”
There are real impacts based on climate change I am not denying anything. I am just saying that you have to have real data to have correlations. I am not even sure that we are seeing any increased deer populations in the northern areas, in fact the variability caused by climate changes (think big unexpected snow storm in april when deer are most vulnerable) could lead to a lot of kill, even after a very mild winter that was easy on the deer.
I am so sorry a bear had mange but euthanizing them is bets for the bear. The GWJNF had a bear mange plague that destroyed hundreds of bear. Some hunters told me they also shot bears to put them down because they had no hair and were in the last throes of deaths grip. It is ugly an if left to spread will be as lethal as wasting disease in terms of herd deaths over an entire district.
There is no pleasure in killing a bear in that state.