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BEARS IN THE BACK YARD

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This past summer and fall, people living in British Columbia saw an unusual
number of black bears in town. Maybe the hot summer dried up the berry crop
on the local mountains. Or maybe the hungry animals just found better pickings
in town.

A black bear �nds food in a household garbage bag.
(Photo via Bear Smart’s Facebook page.)
In the city of Nelson, a family of black bears took up residence in a local park. The
three cubs chased each other around the playground. The city closed the park to
the public for a month. They waited until the weather cooled and the bears �nally
moved on.

“Your cooperation has been greatly appreciated in ensuring both our community
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and our bear neighbours can coexist harmoniously,” said city o�cials.
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DICTIONARY
Black bears are found in every province or territory in Canada except P.E.I. British
Columbia has lots — 120,000 to 150,000 of the animals.
Look up a word
The province also has grizzly bears, but they generally live high in the mountains.
Most human encounters are with black bears.

Bears tend to be shy and avoid humans. Attacks by black bears are exceedingly
rare. But bear-human con�icts do happen when hungry bears are seeking food.

In the wild, the bears will eat berries. They tear apart logs to �nd ants, grubs, and
other bugs. They catch salmon in the rivers.

But black bears are opportunistic eaters. They’ll go for whatever is easy to �nd.
Once they’ve found an easy food source, they keep coming back.

In town, they �nd fruit trees and bird feeders. They paw through bins of garbage
or piles of compost. They sni� out pet food and uncleaned barbecues. Yum!

Once a bear is accustomed to human food, it is in big trouble. Bears that associate
people with food often end up being shot.

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Bears in the Back Yard | Currents4Kids https://www.currents4kids.com/article/11549061

Problem bears are reported to the B.C. Conservation O�ce. It gets more than
25,000 calls from the public each year.

The city of Prince George saw a surge in bears this summer. There were hundreds
of calls to the local Conservation O�ce. It’s usually not possible to trap and re-
locate black bears. Instead, in just three weeks in August, 21 aggressive bears had
to be killed.

That is a tragedy for the bears and for those who care about wildlife.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Conservation o�cers call bear con�icts a

“preventable problem.”

Sure, we live in bear habitat. But we can stop luring the bears into our
neighbourhoods. We can stop giving them a reason to hang about.

Some towns are now certi�ed ‘Bear Smart.’ Residents pick ripe fruit from their
trees before the bears get it. They don’t put their garbage cans out on the curb
until just before the garbage truck arrives. They keep pet food inside. They face
�nes if they leave out anything that will attract bears.

That way, when a bear ambles through town, it is less likely to hang around and
cause trouble.

Move along, bear. Nothing for you here.

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