By Tanya Cronin

Be aware, bears are back for the season

Jun 29, 2016 | 4:40 PM

KAMLOOPS — The bear situation in Kamloops is calm now, but experts say as the fruit on our trees ripens and dries, more bruins will make their way down into the city. 

With that, wildlife officials are reminding residents to minimize attractants around their home, particularly garbage. 

Hungry bears can wreak serious havoc and pose a risk to the public, so clearing away anything that might be a juicy meal, is important at this time of the year.

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Hundreds of pounds of power, these grizzly bears at the BC Wildlife Park work hard to open a bear proof garbage can, full of food and treats. And while it’s just a test, its a stark reminder of the length hungry bears will go to, to get that delicious meal.   

“Every year over 50% of our calls with bears in conflict are caused by garbage being put out too early, so it’s really important that we manage that,” says Frank Ritcey, Provincial WildSafeBC Coordinator.

The warm weather is here and bears are on the hunt. In the wild, dietary staples, like berries and other natural fruit has started to mature. But as that crop dries up, bruins will make their way into city limits.

“It’s not safe having a large animal like a bear in your neighbourhood, the other thing is it’s not safe for the bears, once bears become food conditioned and human habituated, there’s not a lot of opportunities for the COS to deal with that, and quite often the bear needs to be destroyed.”    

Last year in Kamloops, Conservation tracked 14 bears, some family units, all were feeding on garbage. This spring, much earlier than normal, the animals returned to neighbourhoods in search of food. One repeat offender in particular posed a serious risk.

“We left him for sometime last fall and this spring, when he came out from denning, he went right back into garbage and started to become aggressive, so we had to catch him and kill him,” says Kevin Van Damme of the BC Conservation Officer Service. 
    
The main attractant for these bruins is always garbage, and officials want to reiterate the importance of keeping your trash locked up until collection. If it isn’t, a city bylaw will have you paying a hefty fine. The same applies for any attractants left lying around your yard.

“Garbage, it might mean fruit that’s ripening on your trees and there’s so many other things your pets eat that bears will be attracted to, so if they have access to that stuff, they’ll come to your yard.”

The number of bear reports begin to climb in April, peaking in August and September. Homeowners are being urged to get serious about keeping these animals away from neighbourhoods, and to avoid a situation that rarely ends well.  

“A lot of it is about education, but at the end of the day, we do have to respond and assess public safety and if a bear’s behaving in a way that’s not safe in that neighbourhood, we’ll have to catch him and will have to kill him,” says Van Damme.

Inside the City of Kamloops, residents are only allowed to put their garbage out after 4 o’clock in the morning on the day of pickup – but before 7 o’clock to ensure it gets collected. If you do see a bear, report the sighting to the Provincial RAPP Hotline, at 1-877-952-RAPP (7277)