Like feeding hungry bears in BC’s towns, some people are taking a ‘no-holds-barred’ stance

Prince George is seeing an excess of black bears – this time of year when they need to fatten up for the winter.

But with more sightings there have been more complaints and, as a result, more bears killed by conservation officers.

That has some residents questioning whether to call authorities at all, although officials say it’s important to report all aggressive or “conflict” bears.

The northern city saw a “significant increase” in bear reports last month, according to the BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS).

August saw 2,241 complaints about bears, leading to the killing of 36 bears, the agency told CBC News.

By comparison, not a single bear was killed in Prince George in August 2022, BCCOS said.

In just the first week of September, there were 160 calls to the city and two bears were killed.

One of those was in Corey Hademan’s area up north.

“There’s a bear in our yard almost every day,” the artist and teacher told CBC News. “There are bears right in the middle of town … I’ve never seen anything like it.”

A black bear was spotted in Corey Hademan’s Prince George, BC, yard this week. (Posted by Corey Hademan)

Because one of Hardeman’s neighbors didn’t pick apples, there was a series of hungry bears. On Sept. 1, he said, a conservation officer tranquilized a black bear in a tree in the middle of their yard.

“The bear fell out of the tree, ran into the back of my house and into the neighbor’s on the other side, wandered off,” Hardeman recalled, “and we heard a shot.

He said seeing a healthy, young bear killed was “very upsetting.”

Risk to public safety

Experts say the best thing people can do to prevent bears from being killed is not to lure them in the first place.

That means keeping the garbage until garbage day, removing bird and pet food, harvesting all fruits and berries, and cleaning barbecues.

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Black bears are opportunistic eaters. People are urged to protect or store their waste in a way that does not attract them. (Austin Schoonderbeek)

But BCCOS urged people who see any aggressive bear behavior to contact them, as the animal could be a danger to the public.

“To ensure public safety, this resulted in a high number of bears being placed,” the agency said.

Once the bears are used for human consumption and do not fear humans, they cannot be rehabilitated or relocated, the agency explained, “making the risk to public safety very high.”

‘Everyone I know leaves them alone’

But a growing number of British Columbians choose not to report bears they see, and leave them alone if they don’t pose a threat.

Hardenman has rightly adopted a “no-grab” policy.

“I have a lot of respect for Conservation Officers,” he said. “I am not guilty of people’s calls [BCCOS] … but I didn’t call the Maintenance Officer and I’m having a hard time thinking of a situation where I could.

“Everyone I know leaves them alone.”

He and his friends instead relied on word of mouth to warn each other about bringing pets and children inside.

“We don’t say ‘Hello’ to each other in the neighborhood anymore,” he joked. “We’re just saying, ‘Did you see a bear on the road around the corner? Just be careful!’

Some have speculated that the lack of berries due to the drought is driving bears to forage in cities. (Wesley Mitchell)

People learning to live with animals is happening all over BC

Some towns have Facebook groups where bear sightings are frequent – and people are called out on bear misbehavior.

“This is something we’ve noticed for a while and have been aware of here,” said Maggie Spizzirri, community liaison for the Revelstoke Bear Aware Society.

“I don’t know if it’s going to mean there’s a culture of not hunting … there’s definitely a culture of not wanting bears to be killed.”

This week, the small inland city of Kootenay, about 197 kilometers northeast of Kelowna, also saw a spike in bear sightings.

But in 2016, after 26 bears were killed in town, the community rallied — with an added lesson that “you can be smart,” Spizzirri said, and a fruit scavenger hunt to collect unused charms that are then donated to the public. need.

Some of the fruit was even fermented into a popular local brandy, with proceeds raising funds for the bear’s introduction.

On Saturday, his organization held a public event in the town as part of the effort.

Helping both bears, people

Protecting bear habitat — keeping forests and wetlands healthy — is also important to keeping bears healthy, said UBC Okanagan biology professor Adam Ford, Canada’s research chair in wildlife restoration ecology.

“I’ve definitely heard that people are hesitant to report — let alone call conservation officers to help them with the bear — I’ve heard it all over the province,” he said.

But conservation officers are taking those steps to protect public safety … because there is a legitimate threat that the bear could harm someone. “

Simply allowing gregarious bears to roam the streets eating unnatural food could “kick ice down the road,” he warned.

“Take action in your own backyard, help your neighbors live better with species like bears, and take better care of your landscape,” he said.

“That will help both bears and people.”