Bears - Sounds Wild
Electric Fences and bears

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Electric fences for bears

On a beautiful spring day in Southcentral Alaska, a two year old black bear is peeking through the foliage at a house in a rural neighborhood. There are bee hives in the backyard, and he's interested. He's not going into the yard, though. Last week he cautiously approached the hives and encountered an electric fence. The painful, harmless jolt of electricity provided a memorable deterrent. He turns and moves back into the forest in search of more appropriate food.

Electric fences are increasingly popular in Alaska's bear country. Backpackers, rafters and hunters set them up around field camps, and resident use them to protect smoke houses, chicken coops and sheds containing livestock feed and other bear attractants.

An electric fence carries a high voltage, low amperage charge, delivered in short pulses. Fence kits can be purchased, but many Alaskans save money by buying the components separately and assembling the fences themselves. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game website offers detailed information about chargers, wire and fence posts, building a gate and maintaining an electric fence. The website also features three short videos that demonstrate all the parts of an electric fence, and how to set one up at home and in the field.