Based on the multitude of paw prints scattered across The Chief's "On the Map" page, it should come as no surprise that Squamish is experiencing a busy bear year.
Most calls made to the Conservation Officer Service are related to sightings - a bear moving through the community. Unfortunately, this year, there are a fair number of calls related to bears that are not moving through the community but are stopping, staying and accessing attractants.
Our neighbourhoods are like obstacle courses for bears. They may start out looking for natural food but are soon caught up in the smells and tastes that our neighbourhoods offer. Despite being a Bear Smart-certified community, Squamish bears are having a tough go of it this year. To date, seven bears have been destroyed because of conflict issues; educating a transient group of people like campers is a challenging prospect but when humans are recreating in bear country, it is everyone's responsibility to ensure the safety of not only fellow campers but of the wildlife, too.
Four bears were destroyed due to accessing non-natural food within local campsites, one bear was destroyed due to accessing and killing livestock, another after entering a house, and one previously relocated bear was destroyed due to becoming human habituated and garbage conditioned. This is a marked increase from 2011 when only one bear was destroyed.
Every year offers different challenges and this year unlocked garbage totes and fruit trees top the list of attractants that are inviting bears to stop and stay. It's a head scratcher that two years in from being certified as a Bear Smart community, garbage totes are still being left unlocked and accessible. We all lead very busy lives but the simple act of latching those two locks impacts the life of a bear and the safety of the community.
If you see a bear eating garbage from a dumpster or a residential tote call the Bylaw Department at (604) 815-5067 or the Conservation Officer hotline at 1-877-952-7277. The calls will allow us to help educate the owners of the dumpsters and totes, which in turn creates a safer community for both humans and bears.
The Fruit Tree Project is up and running and trying to assist those who are unable to pick their fruit; the fruit is then distributed within the community to those in need. We still encourage residents to pick the fruit themselves and pruning the tree to ensure it is a manageable size. Allowing a bear to eat fruit from your trees is a sure way to encourage it to stay in your neighbourhood and become human-food conditioned and human habituated.
Once a bear loses its natural wariness of humans, it becomes an increased safety risk. Remember, bears are out looking for food, they are not interested in interactions with humans, but every time a bear gains access to food on your property, it becomes used to being around humans and reliant on the food we leave out for it. Please do your part to keep Squamish bears wild and Squamish neighbourhoods safe. For more information on how you can be Bear Aware please call (604) 815-5066 or [email protected]
