Prince George, B.C.- Time to pick the fruit and put away the hummingbird feeders, as bears are entering their Hyperphagia stage. That’s the stage where bears will chow down on everything they can find in an effort to pack on the pounds before they hit the den for a long winter’s nap.

 

With many natural food supplies exhausted, or in the case of blue berries, gone because of early ripening,  Northern Bear Awareness says bears are likely to start moving outside their  range, and into the City.

 

The Northern Bear Awareness Society is calling on Prince George residents to do whatever they can to reduce the number of possible food sources for bears. That means, picking the fruit off trees, making sure the garbage is secured until it is garbage day, and taking down the hummingbird feeders.

 

“I have it from a reliable sources that many of the male hummingbirds have left by now and all humming birds should be gone by the first week of September “ says Dave Bakker of the Northern Bear Awareness Society. Bakker says removing the feeders now   will ensure bears won’t be attracted by sweet juice and will also encourage any remaining hummingbirds to start heading south. The hummingbirds will not starve if you remove the feeders, there are still plenty of blooming flowers for them to get  a good feed.

 

 Bakker says there is a theory  about the reproductive cycle of the bear. According to the theory, after the mating in late spring and early summer, the female may be carrying up to five fertilized eggs but these will not implant until hibernation starts. The theory is that there  is a link between how many eggs implant and how much weight the female had gained during the summer and fall.  If a female bears’ diet has been supplemented with attractants such as garbage, birdseed, and apples her ability to give birth to larger litters is increased.

 

“By allowing bears to access to more than what is available naturally could be a contributing factor to the high incident reports here in Prince George because we are assisting with the bears reproduction and survival rates” says Bakker.