How Bear Aware Are You?
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
~Wildlife education~
Vancouver Island black bears eat both meat and plants, and their sense of smell and hearing is far superior to that of humans. If a hungry bear smells food waste in a barbecue or trash container or a vehicle, it will go after it.
Photo credit: istock.com/eyfoto
Bears are natural scavengers and have good memories, so they will return to locations where they have found food before.
Bears must eat large amounts of food, so they don’t starve during the winter months and to produce offspring (cubs are born in January or February in winter dens), so they are continually looking for food. Bears may travel hundreds of kilometres daily in their search for food.
Bears are strong and can bend open car doors and pry open trunks and windshields in their search for food, so don’t leave food or food waste in your vehicles in areas where bears are known to frequent.
If you go hiking in bear country, make sure you are prepared. Carry bear spray and avoid wearing strong perfumes. If you are accompanied by children, keep them close to you, and always keep your pets on a leash. If you see a bear, stay calm. The bear may just be curious, not aggressive. Speak in a calm, firm voice and back away slowly. NEVER run. A black bear can run up to 48 km per hour, much faster than the average human.
Don’t leave any type of food, garbage or pet food where a bear can get at it. Store them inside or in a bear-proof container. Many nuisance bear calls are due to garbage attracting them. Take your garbage away immediately and put it out at the curb just in time for your regular collection time (not the night before). Cooking grease, bones and waste parts of meat should be stored in the freezer until your garbage day. Do not put any meat or fish in a backyard compost bin.
Barbecues attract bears. Clean up cooking and eating areas promptly when finished and keep your grills clean and free from grease.
If you have fruit trees, pick fruit and windfall every day when ripe. Bee hives, birdseed and suet may also attract bears.
Sadly, nuisance calls can lead to the death of a mother bear and orphaned bear cubs. Please be mindful of wildlife and act accordingly.
You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!
