Big news from New Hampshireregarding the effects of bears consuming various chocolate products. New Hampshire is a state where hunting is a rich tradition. And, part of that tradition involves setting up bait for bears in order to lure them - bait that includes chocolates, which have been found to be fatally harmful to some bears in the area.

A public hearing was held recently in Concord, N.H. to discuss a proposal to ban the practice of setting out chocolate as bait for bears at designated bait sites.

This practice is being questioned, now that four black bears, one adult and three cubs, were found dead at a bait site in Stark, N.H. The bears' toxicology and necropsy reports advise they had died from a toxic level of theobromine, a toxic chemical found specifically in chocolate products.

Local wildlife biologist Andrew Timmins, leader of the state's bear project, called the incident "a landmark event," since it's the first known time an adult bear is believed to have been killed by consuming chocolate.

The chemical found in chocolate isn't only deadly to bears, as scientists have found other, smaller dead animals near bait sites in the past, like racoons.

For these four bears, the culprit was originally believed to be a brick of baker's chocolate, which has higher levels of theobromine than other chocolates, but Timmins said the test results showed the level of theobromine to actually be nearer to that found in milk chocolate.

Currently, thirteen U.S. states allow bear baiting, and its popularity is rising in New Hampshire, where there are now 1,400 permitted bait sites.

A theme emerged from the discussion at the public hearing: they should ban chunks of baker's chocolate, or other concentrated forms of chocolate, but allow other chocolatey treats that contain less theobromine still to be used as bait.

The state's Fish and Game department will make a decision on any rule changes next month. Source: SeaCoastOnline.com

Photo: "Black Bear Sow and Cubs" by Bryan Wilkins is licensed under CC BY SA 2.0 /cropped from original

• Author
• Recent Posts

Ashleigh Rader

Content Developer at Chocolate University Online

All her life, Ashleigh has enjoyed, indulged in, and spread the gift of chocolate. She says, "life's too short to skip dessert." Ashleigh joined CUO to help share on our blog and social networks more about the wonders of chocolate.

Latest posts by Ashleigh Rader (see all)

• Super-Dad Writes To Cadbury About Chocolate - October 30, 2015
• Dark Chocolate Covered Frightened Pretzels Recipe - October 28, 2015
• Will It Chocolate? Funny Video Friday! - October 23, 2015