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Spring weather brings out the bears

Monday’s snowfall not withstanding, spring is almost here and with its arrival comes the beginning of bear season.

Prince George residents should already be on the look-out for their furry neighbours, says Northern Bear Awareness Society President Dave Bakker.

Last year’s first confirmed bear sighting in the Prince George area took place on March 1 and Bakker says the society has already received unconfirmed reports of bears that have left their winter dens.

Bears emerge hungry and snow on the ground means fewer food options. Bakker says unsecured garbage and compost bins, along with backyard birdfeeders, are powerful lures for hungry bears.

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“A bear’s diet, depending on regional area, is about 80-85% plant material. But, with the amount of snow that’s still on the ground, obviously there’s not going to be that much plant material available so that’s going to bring bears into neighbourhoods.”

The Northern Bear Awareness Society advises people to take precautions before they end up with bears in their yard.

“It’s best to manage your attractants before the bears find them. Start making plans to store your garbage in a shed or a garage and consider taking your bird feeders down. If you still want to leave them up during the day, at least bring them in at night.”

Bakker says that, without taking unnatural attractants into account, the city boundaries could support a resident population of about 35 bears.

“What we’re finding though is that, probably with all the unnatural attractants, that number is probably way out of line and we actually do not know how many bears are resident bears within the city.”

Every year, an average of 40 local bears have to be destroyed. That number suggests that there are many more than 35 bears making their homes in and around the city. The responsibility for preventing conflicts with bears rests with people, says Bakker.

“It takes a neighbourhood’s involvement in whole to change attractants. It only takes one attractant to bring a bear into a neighbourhood. If we can get neighbourhoods acting on the same page, then we’ll see a huge reduction in the number of complaints and the number of bears destroyed every year.”

Locally, bears are usually killed for damaging property such as sheds and garages, fences, garbage bins and composters.

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“It’s all because of unnatural attractants. It’s not because they’re attacking people,” says Bakker. “In some instances, it is property damage. As soon as bears start destroying property, they reach what they call a Level 3 of conflict with the Ministry of Environment and basically it’s a death sentence for a bear.”

Spring is a crucial time for bears, says Bakker, and a little bit of prevention can go a long way to ensuring neighbourly relations between bears and people.

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