~wildlife education~ Responsible hunters understand their role in wildlife conservation and follow established laws and ethical practices. They know they must hold a valid BC Hunting License and, for certain species and areas, are required to obtain additional authorization as well. Photo credit: istock.com/Mark Dufresne Correct species identification and safety are essential to ethical hunting. Ethical hunters educate themselves on the specific open seasons, bag limits, and

~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 win

~Wildlife education~ It is estimated that between 16,400 and 23,000 wild animals are killed annually on roads in British Columbia, and, sadly, wildlife collisions are becoming more common. Photo credit: istock.com/Pascal-L-Marius Deer are the most often struck wildlife on BC roads, involved in nearly three out of every four wildlife collisions. Other animals impacted are bears, raccoons, wolves, cougars, beavers, muskrats, moose and elk. And before highway crews can pick u