An early blast of Spring in the North is bringing with it the bears.
Dave Bakker, President of the Northern Bear Awareness Society, said there’s been multiple reported sightings in the city already.
“They go through a very slow process this time of year which is described as ‘walking hibernation,’ where they’re out and about but they’re not really all that active.”
Bakker said that in previous years the Society has recommended that people start managing their attractants, like bird feeders and garbage, near the beginning of April but climate conditions the last few years have given us some early Springs and they’ve seen bear activity as early as March.
“Bears don’t run on alarm clocks so it’s hard to say when it’s going to happen, the best thing we can do is start preparing.”
He said that given the lack of greenery, the only food sources that are available right now are the unnatural ones and once a bear finds food, they don’t forget where it is.
“The big message that we try to send out is don’t wait for it to happen, because as soon as it happens it’s already too late.”
“If you have the ability, start securing your residential waste, putting a strap on the can or start storing it in your garage,” said Bakker.
“If you’ve had those bird feeders up all winter, it’s really important to clean the ground underneath them. Even the discarded shells are an attractant, if you’ve been feeding the birds sunflower seeds all year.”
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