By Jill Sperling

Garbage and other food sources attracting bears into Kamloops

Jun 3, 2018 | 10:52 AM

KAMLOOPS — It’s becoming an all too familiar sight in Aberdeen and Sahali — a bear wandering around peoples’ yards, and rummaging through garbage. 

According to Conservation Officer Sgt. Kevin Van Damme, there are two bears in these neighbourhoods. 

“There’s actually two bears,” Van Damme said, “one in the Sahali-Peterson Creek area. It’s a black-coloured bear, younger bear. And then there’s a brown-coloured bear in the Aberdeen area. They’ve both been active for the past week and a half in the community and going into peoples’ yards.”

Two other bears have been spotted in the Tk’emlups and Westsyde areas. 

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Van Damme says bears quite often enter the city looking for food after hibernating over the winter.

“That’s the pattern that we’re seeing with these bears. These bears that are in Kamloops right now are actively seeking out peoples’ garbage, and their actively seeking out other food sources like bird feeders in the areas that they’re living right now.” 

Traps have been set up in Sahali and Aberdeen to capture the bears. Once caught, they will be taken out of the city to be euthanized

“When a bear does seek out garbage as a food source, or some other human backyard food, that bear will return and it will continue seeking out that type of food,” Van Damme said. “There’s just no ability for that animal to go back to a complete wild setting and not interact with garbage, or not be drawn to garbage again.” 

Van Damme says the more a bear gets used to being near people, the more the risk to public safety increases. 

He says the best thing for people to do to avoid this situation is to lock up all attractants. 

“Try to do your part and keep your food stuff away from these animals,” Van Damme said. “We can all live together without having to remove one of these animals from the community. Nobody wants that and we certainly do not want to do that as well.”