The District of Sooke is a community that manages to combine its ready access to Victoria and other municipalities with a relaxed, small town, rural lifestyle. It’s a combination that has led to a substantial increase in population; a trend that shows no sign of abating any time soon.
But according to Debbie Read, the founder and president of Wild Wise Sooke, residents of Sooke should be aware that they live in an area with the fifth highest black bear population in the province.
“Sooke’s motto is ‘Wild by Nature’ and a lot of people hear that think it’s very nice but don’t make the connection with the fact that we actually do have wildlife surrounding our community. They don’t think about the responsibilities they have as a result,” said Read.
“When you live here, there really is a way you have to live in order to be responsible to the nature around us, especially the bears.”
Read explained that when she came to Sooke there were an average of 20 to 30 bears a year being dispatched by conservation officers as a result of human/bear conflicts that, on the most part, were the fault of the human side of that equation. As a result of her group’s education campaign over the past seven years, that number has been reduced to about five a year.
“Black bears live in the forests around us–always have–and they tend to be shy, avoiding human contact. But it’s our behaviour that draws them in to feed on things like garbage, greasy barbeques, pet food, bird feeders and untended fruit trees. Once they start feeding on these things, they become habituated and their natural fear of humans disappears.”
A bear that has become accustomed to eating garbage or fruit from backyard trees comes to think of those items as their food, and they will defend their food source from humans who try to interfere with their feeding. Conflicts result and then the conservation officers are called in and the bears are the ones who pay the price.
Read said there are some basic rules that Sooke residents should observe to minimize the potential of attracting and habitualizing bears to food sources that originate from human sources.
The most important thing residents can do is to keep their garbage inside or invest in a bear proof garbage container. The smell of garbage is a very strong attractant and bears and they will seek out that food source because it has a higher calorie count than the natural food sources like berries.
“At this time of year a bear is looking to ingest between 20,000 and 30,000 calories a day in preparation for hibernation. they will always go to the highest calorie count they can find,” said Read.
The second most attractive food source inside the residential areas are fruit trees. Many people plant the trees as attractive additions to their homes, but do not pick or otherwise make use of the fruit. Left to fall to the ground or ripen on the tree, that fruit is a treat that bears simply can’t resist. Wild Wise Sooke’s advice is to pick the fruit , have someone else pick it before it falls, or simply remove the tree.
Even chickens can attract bears.
Read said that black bears are omnivores and will kill chickens if they are available. Her group urges people raising chickens or other livestock on their property to install electric fences to protect the chickens and, ultimately, the bears.
“We’re a growing community and that’s wonderful, but with that growth the possibility of human/wildlife conflicts increases tremendously. Our organization wants to educate people to live responsibly so that nature and humans learn to co-exist,” said Read.
To that end, Wild Wise Sooke distributes brochures, does public education appearances and warns the public with “bear in area” signs when bears are
spotted.
