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Alaska bears are loading up at bird feeders

In this Friday photo provided by Bruce Batten, a black bear eats seeds inside a bird feeder on a second-floor porch after walking up a flight of stairs in Eagle River, Alaska. (Associated Press)
In this Friday photo provided by Bruce Batten, a black bear eats seeds inside a bird feeder on a second-floor porch after walking up a flight of stairs in Eagle River, Alaska. (Associated Press)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Bruce Batten was surprised to see an unseasonable visitor on the second-floor deck of his Eagle River home.

The former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee heard his dogs barking at about 1:30 a.m. Friday. He looked out of the French doors off his bedroom, flipped on a light and saw what was upsetting the dogs: a black bear feeding on a bird feeder.

The audience didn’t bother the bear.

“He’s like, ‘Excuse me, I’m having a little snack here,’ ” Batten told the Alaska Dispatch News.

The incident and others prompted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to warn residents that south-central Alaska bears have not taken to winter dens and may be attracted to birdfeeders and cans of trash.

Mild temperatures and little snow have led to bears hanging around, said Dave Battle, an assistant area wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Game.

Bears want to load up on calories before denning, and bird seed and trash are a strong temptation, Battle said.

“It’s most likely to stay out a bit longer, packing in the last calories that it can,” Battle said.