A black bear has been trapped and euthanized in Sparwood Heights over the weekend.
The animal was reported accessing unsecured garbage in the area and deemed to be a threat to human safety by local authorities.
According to a report submitted by WildSafeBC, this had been an ongoing issue since the spring.
“We, the people, contributed to the death of this bear by approaching it or feeding it, by intent or neglect with garbage left outdoors and apples on the tree or windfall fruit rotting on the ground,” said WildSafeBC Community Coordinator Kathy Murray.
“Repeated exposure to people lead to the bear posing a threat to human safety and ultimately its death.”
Murray addressed why the bear was not moved out of town.
“The Conservation Officer Service used to regularly trap and relocate bears. Then, in the late 1980s this practice was questioned,” she said.
“As a result, relocated bears were marked with an ear tag when they were released. Some were radio collared and tracked.”
Murray says two things became apparent: the survival rate of relocated bears was very low.
The bears often failed to adapt to their new habitat and either starved to death or were killed by animals that already occupied the area.
Secondly, most relocated bears were finding their way back into their original home territory or becoming “problem” animals in other communities.
“Relocating bears is not a solution,” explained Murray.
“Keeping garbage stored indoors until collection day, cleaning up fruit trees and securing wildlife attractants is the best way to keep people safe, prevent property damage, and avoid the unnecessary killing of bears that come into conflict with people.”
In an effort to reduce conflict, Murray reminded Sparwood residents to keep latches done up on the bear-resistant carts and keep them indoors as an additional barrier until they are placed on the curb the day of collection.
“The proper use of the new bear resistant carts is the perfect opportunity to teach new bears that garbage is not an easy food source. Once they learn that they can’t break into the cart they will move on,” she said.
LOOK BACK: Sparwood rolls out new bear-resistant garbage carts
Referring to the BC Wildlife Act section 33.1, Murray said it is the homeowner’s responsibility to prevent dangerous wildlife from accessing unnatural food on their property.
“It will take time but once everyone is on board the end result will be a cleaner and safer community for people, and wildlife,” said Murray.
Murray reminded Fernie residents that the new garbage carts with the gravity locking system will keep dogs, crows and small animals out, but they are not bear-resistant.
They must be kept indoors until they are placed on the curb for collection. The gravity lock system will reduce the amount of wind strewn litter as they will not open if knocked over.
“If you live in a rural area with no curbside garbage collection, thanks for keeping garbage indoors and inaccessible to wildlife until you take it to the transfer station,” she said.
In other news, mountain bikers were bluff charged by a grizzly bear and cub last week in the Castle Mountain area. There were also several other reports of grizzly bear sightings throughout the trail network.
Murray said fall is a beautiful time to hike and bike but be prepared and expect to encounter wildlife anytime.
For more information visit Wildsafebc.com.
