LIVERMORE – A mama bear that ventured into people’s backyards along with her two yearlings is trap-wise, said Deborah Turcotte, a spokeswoman for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

It took a department biologist and Maine wardens more than one attempt to get two of the bears into traps. One yearling got away.

The sow is accustomed to backyards and neighborhoods because people hand-fed her or placed birdseed where she could get to it, said state bear biologist Jennifer Vashon.

People took the wild out of the bear, and her yearlings were learning that that was the way to get food. But bears that lose their fear of humans still can become dangerous and destructive, Vashon said.

The worst-case scenario is that a bear will hurt someone, she said. It may get upset about the way it is being fed or annoyed by flashes from cameras and react in a way that is harmful to humans. It’s happened elsewhere.

“We’d have to destroy the bear if this happened,” Vashon said.

The sow was taken to the woods as a “last chance” to be a wild bear, she said. Bears, though, can travel hundreds of miles, and if the sow shows up in another neighborhood, “we’re going to have to catch it and move her from a natural setting to a zoo.”

Also, the yearling that escaped from biologists who were attempting to put a tracking device on it may return to the neighborhood. “We will try to catch it and bring it to a rehab facility where it will be taught how to survive in the wild and not be reliant on people for food,” Vashon said.

The other yearling is at a rehabilitation center, learning how to survive in the wild.

“We believe the yearlings still have a chance of living as wild bears,” Vashon said. The sow and the yearling in rehab have had radio-controlled tracking devices attached to them.

This is the time of year that Inland Fisheries and the Maine Warden Service receive hundreds of animal complaints. Bears near homes and neighborhoods are among the calls from fearful people.

“It’s a community-based effort that keeps wild bears wild,” Vashon said. “People have to be working together to make sure this happens. All residents should follow the same plan to ensure that bears do not become problematic.”

At this time of year, food sources for bears are not abundant and the animals seek food elsewhere.

They shouldn’t be finding it at homes, in yards or at Dumpsters, she said.