Wildlife expert reminds Kamloopsians to be bear aware

KAMLOOPS — With summer turning into fall, a Kamloops wildlife expert is reminding people to be bear aware.

Provincial Wildsafe BC Coordinator Frank Ritcey says we should always be bear aware but says that’s especially the case now.

“The reason for that is the bears are trying to put on as much fat as possible before the winter denning period,” he says. “Bears are coming into town because we’ve got a lot of fruit available at this time. So, pick your fruit as it ripens and secure your garbage properly.”

That being said, Ritcey says bear calls are way down this year over last. In fact from January 1 to September 8 this year, he says there have been 108 black bear calls. That compares to 253 over the same period last year.