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Six garbage bears on the prowl in Brackendale, Highlands

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Presently there are about six different bears raiding garbage in Squamish neighborhoods. The following neighborhoods are seeing an increased amount of bear activity; Brackendale in the Bracken Heights Co-op and Ross Road area, and Garibaldi Highlands on Kintyre Drive, Rum and Egg, Thunderbird Ridge and area.

Please encourage these bears to move on by storing your garbage indoors. If a bear enters your yard, make him uncomfortable to be there! This is your "lair" where you store your food and raise your young and bears should not be welcome there. Make noise! Bang pots and pans together, yell, throw rocks, or spray it with a hose. You must show the bear you are the master of your yard and his presence will not betolerated.

Once the bear has left your yard, do not follow it. Please make sure your personal safety is not as risk at any time by staying on a balcony or in the doorway of your house. Never ask a child to scare a bear away.

If you know the bear will be back, have the hose ready by the door, a pile of rocks on hand or pots and pans ready. Some bears that have been habituated to humans will not scare away. Do not attempt to scare the bear any further, but call your local Bear Aware Representative or the Conservation hotline (1-877-952-7277).

A Bear Aware garbage raid of Brackendale on June 30 found 47 households put out their garbage cans the night before garbage pick up. By doing this, bears are exposed to garbage in the security of night and quickly become food conditioned. Please do not put your garbage out until the morning of garbage day.

The Thunderbird Ridge bear is getting into garbages on the day of collection. This bear may be a good candidate for translocation so we ask all residents to make sure garbage and attractants are not accessible to him. If you see this bear, please call the Bear Aware emergency number immediately.

For more information or to report a bear please call Bear Aware at 604-815-5066.

Kris Hopping is the co-ordinator of the Bear Aware program.

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