Ep 7. Don't Feed The Bears

In the 11th season of North Woods Law, Episode 7 is titled "Don't Feed the Bears." The episode follows the enforcement officers of the Maine Warden Service as they tackle one of their biggest challenges - dealing with black bears.

Maine has the largest black bear population in the eastern United States, and the Warden Service is responsible for protecting both the bears and the public who encounter them. With bears becoming increasingly common in residential areas, officers must work hard to educate the public on the dangers of feeding these creatures.

In this episode, officers respond to several calls about bears causing trouble in residential areas. Officer Towne teams up with a USDA biologist to investigate a complaint about a bear that has been eating birdseed and garbage from a residential backyard. They set up a trap to catch the bear and use a GPS collar to track it once it's released.

When they finally catch the bear, they find it to be in poor health. With the help of the biologist, the officers tranquilize the bear and perform some basic medical procedures to help it recover.

In another part of the state, Officer Canfield responds to a call from a concerned citizen about a bear that has been rummaging through trash cans in a park. Canfield sets up a surveillance camera at the park to monitor the bear's activity and gather evidence. He then sets up a trap to catch the bear, and when he finally does so, he discovers that it is severely underweight.

The officers work to feed the bear and nurse it back to health. They also take the opportunity to educate the public about the dangers of feeding bears and the importance of allowing them to forage for their own food.

In addition to dealing with bears, the officers also respond to other wildlife-related calls. Officer Canfield responds to a call from a man who claims to have caught a bobcat in his trap. When Canfield arrives on the scene, he quickly realizes that the animal is not a bobcat but a lynx - a rare and protected species.

Canfield works with a biologist to safely release the lynx back into the wild and educate the man on the importance of identifying his traps properly.

Overall, the episode highlights the challenging and often dangerous work that the Maine Warden Service does to protect both wildlife and the public. With bears becoming increasingly common in residential areas, officers must be vigilant in educating the public about the dangers of feeding them and the importance of allowing them to forage for their own food.