More city bear sightings after long, cold winter

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There’s been an increase in bear sightings on the Lower Mainland this spring, after a longer-than-usual cold spell.

Conservation officer Sharlene Syer says the long, chilly winter means bears and other wildlife are hungry and venturing out of their normal habitat for food.

“I mean, we’ve found an increase in cougar sightings because the cougars were literally being pushed off the mountain down to their food source, which is typically deer. The deer were coming down to feed on the grass and the cougars were following them. So, an increase in wildlife sightings I can say has been seen in cities in the past few weeks for sure.”

With a shortage of berries because of the cold, bear sightings are becoming more common in local populated areas.

Syer says that proper garbage storage is the best way to discourage wild animals from poking around populated areas, to make sure they don’t get a taste for human spoils.

She suggests keeping your trash in a secure building like a locked garage or shed is sufficient to stop bears from accessing human scraps, unlike the so-called ‘bear bins’ supplied by municipalities.

“Those bins are not bear-proof. They’re a little bit of a bear-deterrent because they often have straps or locks on top but if the bears want to get in them bad enough, they will. They’ll just jump on them or bend the lid and they’ll access the food and that’ll keep them coming back and we don’t want them to come back into the city.”

If you’re in a residential area and you come across the bear, you’re advised to wave your arms and make some noise to spook the bear off, and discourage it from getting a taste of some tasty scraps.

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