KAMLOOPS — There have been a number of bear sightings in Kamloops recently.
Bears are actively seeking out food after hibernation. While there is plenty of vegetation in the wilderness for them to eat, certain attractants prove far too tempting for the dangerous animals.
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“Some of those bears had food conditioning from the previous fall,” said conservation officer Kevin Van Damme. “So when they wake up out of their dens if they know they can get food in town, they will work their way into town and look for attractants people have in and around their yard.”
There is one particular attractant bears can’t seem to get enough of.
“It’s garbage,” said WildSafeBC coordinator Frank Ritcey. “People are not managing their garbage properly, and that’s what the bears are coming in for.”
Garbage that is easy to access or is left outside too long will lure bears into a community.
Other attractants include bird seed, dog food, and fruit trees.
“We do recommend temporary electric fencing,” Ritcey said. “Electric fencing is a very effective tool against bears getting into your fruit, but we know when the fruit’s ripening, so lets go out there, let’s pick it as it ripens so the bears don’t have a big reward.
Once a bear knows there is food available at a particular property it’s likely to make itself right at home.
“Earlier this year we had a bear go into someone’s house,” Van Damme said. “They broke their way into the house and that bear did that because it was a learned behaviour and it had accessed non-natural food, so its next step is to go in.”
When public safety is threatened conservation officers are left with only one option.
“At the point and time when we make that assessment that there’s a dangerous animal in the community, then we capture it and we destroy it,” Van Damme said.
More information on how to manage bear attractants is available through WildSafeBC.
