Be Bear Aware Warns Local Expert
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Black bear crosses North Nechako Road – photo 250 News
Prince George, B.C. – The combination of our dry summer and a weak berry crop is raising concerns with a Prince George bear expert.
"A lot of information I've received recently from a lot of locals that pick a lot of berries, is that there's not a whole heckuva lot of berries out there," says Northern Bear Awareness Society president Dave Bakker.
He says the lack of a normal berry crop is concerning because,"bears have a tendency to roam over larger areas and when you factor in some of the forest fires bears will start moving in their search for food."
Bakker says the concern is that the bears will begin moving within city limits which he warns could lead to a repeat of what happened back in 2010.
"That year the Conservation Service received just over 1,800 phone calls and 86 bears were destroyed."
He says that number is almost triple the normal average.
"Desperate bears will take desperate measures," warns Bakker adding, "you may also see bolder tendencies of bears if what I'm predicting comes true. That may include approaching houses and taking more risks because they're hungry."
In fact Bakker says a perfect storm of sorts is brewing.
"We're on the verge of a collision here where we're about a month away from bears going into hyperphagia, or a feeding frenzy as they prepare for the winter, which will then combine with a poor berry crop and the ripening of fruit trees."
He admits the scenario doesn't paint a pretty picture but says there are things people can do to avoid confronting bears including storing garbage in a shed, putting away hummingbird feeders and calling the conservation service.
Comments
Thank you for the complimentary description as being an “expert”;I try to stay current on recently published material, have several interactions with bears every year,spend time in the local urban environments that bears call home and have a friend that is a bear biologist, but I consider myself as being “well informed” as opposed to an expert. Thanks again for the compliment.
Dave Bakker
Northern Bear Awareness Society
PS I hope I am wrong with my prediction
We were out in our normal berry spot this week and they were non existant. The bushes are all dried out and nary a blueberry to be found. This is about 20 mins north.
No berries anywhere I looked. In fact in a lot of areas the caterpillars killed off the leaves of the Saskatoon tree’s. The leaves grew back, but there are no saskatoons.
Blueberries and Huckleberries are conspicuous by their absence, or small and dried up.
Its going to be tough being a bear this fall.
The one patch we go to out Otway is nearly none existent this year except for a few bushes in the shade, and the one out North. Nechako has berries but small and shrivelled up.
I suggest picking the apple trees and dumping them in a location away from town and populations under a good shade tree. The bears will be drawn that way rather than towards town and they won’t have to be killed trying to access the fruit.
Watch out for porcupines. I’ve seen two of them waddling up my street last week.
Every year, we have problems with bears in the City. City bylaws require that residential garbage bins are to be placed at the curb no earlier than 4:00 a.m. of the scheduled garbage collection day.
There also appears to be suggestions that garbage be securely stored inside a shed or garage, but this does not seem to be a bylaw.
I have noticed that many residents put their garbage out the evening before their scheduled garbage pickup day. So, their garbage sits out at the curb all evening and then throughout the night!
Drive down residential streets and take a look at how many residents keep their garbage cans outside of their garage or shed.
The City needs to amend the bylaw so that it is a requirement that garbage be stored inside, rather than just a suggestion!
Bylaw officers then need to get out of the coffee shop and start driving around writing tickets for people who do not securely store their garbage and for people that put their garbage out the evening before.
Way too many bears are put down each year in Prince George! Lazy ass people need to be more responsible and it seems that the only way to get through to them is with a fine, hopefully a large fine!
Wow Hart Guy, I’m glad that I don’t have you for a nanny-neighbor! Some folks don’t have sheds and others are just slobs. I’ll continue to put my bins out the same way that I’ve been doing for years and devil take the hindmost.
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