Fewer problems caused by bears this year
Posted September 25, 2013 8:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Hungry bears are searching for up to 20-thousand calories a day right now.
Fewer of the big animals have been causing problems on the North Shore this year and a lot of it has to do with the way people are handling their garbage.
As bears hunt for food up to 20 hours a day in their drive to pack on pounds for the winter they’re attracted to things like bird feeders, fruit trees and of course household garbage.
Christine Miller with the North Shore Black Bear Society says the new green bin programs that collect the smelly organics in many municipalities are actually helping the situation.
“The food scraps, the organics, what are they going to do with it and we have a lot of people actually freezing it until the morning of collection and that’s exactly what we want to see happen,” she says.
On the North Shore only one bear has needed to be euthanized this year compared to 12 last year.
The provincial government is also being asked to do more to protect grizzly bears and their habitat.
The coalition of groups behind the push says we can’t afford to lose any more grizzlies because of conflicts with humans.
The Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative also says the bears are having trouble finding mates because new mines, hydro-electric projects and other developments continue to isolate them.
