Several large grizzlies have been spotted in West Creston this year eating fruit from trees and feeding on farmer’s corn.
The Creston Valley is a bear corridor for many types of bears. Black and grizzly bears are all present in the Creston area. WildlifeBC Community Coordinator Trish Drinkle shares with the Creston Valley Advance how to reduce human/wildlife conflict.
“This time of year it’s important to be bear aware to avoid wildlife conflict situations,” Trish states. “The biggest factor in preventing wildlife conflict is to mitigate the food attractants in your yard. The only reason a bear is going to stop in a yard in an urban setting is for a food reward”
Autumn is the time of year the bears are in hyperphagia. This is when the bear is on a calorie push to store the calories it needs to help sustain its life during a long hibernation over winter.
“Fruit trees are attractants to bears,” Trish warns. “Especially this time of year unkept trees in backyards, Crown land, and CP land have apple trees where no one is using the fruit.”
Crabapple trees seem to be a problem, people enjoy the blossom of the crabapple tree but very rarely do they have a use for the fruit.
“Unused fruits lure wild animals into an urban setting for the food attractants. Bears, deer, raccoons, skunks and even rats will come into an urban setting for a food reward.”
A fed bear is a dead bear. Bears that get used to eating human foods are very rarely able to reverse that learned behavior. Hunting wild food takes more effort and time and uses precious calories needed for the winter. These attractants become like fast food for bears. Human food conditioning and habituation for bears is a serious problem for not only the bears but humans as well.
“Habituation is when the bear loses its fear of humans,” explains Trish. “Bears that get into garbage bins, bird feeders, composts, and fruit trees are exposed to human contact. When there is not a negative interaction they lose their fear of humans, putting themselves and humans at risk for wildlife conflict.”
Ideally, Wildlife BC would like to implement a system where electrical fencing is used to persuade wildlife from coming down into the flats to eat food attractants.
Trish goes on, “Electrical fencing would encourage the bears to stay up in the mountains where they could find natural food sources.”
Negative wildlife conflict situations increase when bears are migrating through residential and urban areas to obtain the fruit from trees, garbage, and even birdseed. Amazingly, birdseed is sought after by bears for its high-calorie content, which can cause an escalated conflict between bears and humans.
“Bears don’t naturally break into basements. A wild bear doesn’t break into a home naturally. It’s a progression that happens when a bear has been conditioned to eating human sourced foods. The bear starts to become habituated and loses there fear and starts to take a bigger risk for the food source.”
It is recommended that residents secure their garbage bins and remove all food attractants in their backyards. Removing freezers and refrigerators from decks is suggested. “Bears have an incredible sense of smell. Freezers and refrigerators on decks are buffets for bears. When the bear finishes the food in the freezer the next progression could be the bear trying a door or window to get into the house.”
Normally, a bear conflict does not happen during daylight hours. Bears are usually foraging for food during dawn or at dusk. However, conflict bears will come out during the daylight hours to push the boundaries and encroach on humans.
“We can coexist with bears provided we are behaving as humans and not providing a food attractant for bears.”
If a bear does come through your yard or in your home make lots of noise the bear can hear. Keeping a whistle or banging pots is a deterrent and will scare bears and other wildlife from your yard. Do not allow any wildlife to reside, hangout or linger in your backyard.
“Don’t even let deer linger in your backyard. They need to be afraid of humans for their safety and ours”
The bears you can encounter in this area usually try to avoid humans however if you are out hiking, biking or walking be sure to make lots of noise.
“The human voice lets the wildlife know we are in the area and they will want to avoid us. Bear bells could instigate a curiosity in an animal so talking, singing and laughing will be more of a warning to a curious animal. For more information on Bear Awareness, you can contact Wildlife BC website. www.wildsafebc.com
