Secure garbage, be careful with bird seed; local bear sightings on the rise
Posted May 25, 2018 10:24 am.
Last Updated May 25, 2018 1:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LOWER MAINLAND (NEWS 1130) – After a flurry of sightings — the latest this morning in Abbotsford — a local bear expert is warning people watch for attractants in their yards.
Christine Miller with the North Shore Black Bear Society says unsecured garbage is the worst culprit, but bird feeders aren’t far behind. “Bird seed attracts bears from far away. In addition, some of the seed falls onto the ground, which attracts rats [and] coyotes.”
“Just use small quantities of good quality seed when they are home to admire the birds, and then bring the feeders in,” she suggests.
A bear was spotted on Clearbrook Road near Downes Road in Abbotsford this morning.
Miller is reminding you that smelly, organic waste can be stored in the freezer until garbage collection day to help keep hungry bears away.
Anyone with backyard chickens or bee hives should use an electric fence to keep hungry bears back.
What do you do if you see a bear on the side of a highway?
BC’s Ministry of Transportation is trying to help reduce hazards when the animals are spotted on the side of highways by advising people to prevent a “Bear Jam.”
With a “choose your own adventure” theme, the ministry has put out the following scenario:
You and your kids are driving along one of BC’s picturesque highways (imagine the Sea to Sky, or Highway 4 to Vancouver Island’s west coast). All of a sudden, you notice a number of stopped vehicles ahead and people gathered around, their attention drawn to… what’s that?… a mother bear with her wee cub! Wow!
Do you…
A) Pull over slightly, tell the kids to sit put, and grab your camera before setting up to take photos next to your vehicle…
B) Stop your vehicle on the road and get the kids out of their car seats before joining the crowd, which is now only a few metres from the bears… Hmm, maybe bears like eating Goldfish crackers?
C) Activate your vehicle’s flashing hazard lights to warn other drivers before slowing down and cautiously driving through the area, while looking out for oncoming traffic and people/bears crossing the highway. Look kids… bears!
For your story to turn out well, you should go with “C.”
The ministry says the whole idea is to not add to an unsafe situation, where both people and the bears are at risk. While the bears may be exciting and interesting, stopped cars blocking travel lanes and people crossing the highways are pose hazards.
Getting too close to the animals to snap a photo can also be dangerous because, simply put, they are bears and thus, are dangerous.
And bears can also get used to humans with too much contact or worse, feeding. And that’s a bad thing: If bears lose their natural fear of humans, that just increases the likelihood of such encounters.
