Bear activity on the rise

• more bears coming into communities for food
• reports have almost tripled this summer
• residents advised to manage attractants

While it’s not uncommon to see bears venturing into Okanagan communities in autumn, this year their activity is happening at higher rates.

In an average August, the number of calls to the conservation office to report bear sightings is 60. However, this August 168 calls were made. That’s almost three times the average.

“This year I suspect that with the fires on the west side and the drought conditions throughout the area, is resulting in increased bear activity,” Meg Bjordal said. She’s the WildSafeBC Coordinator for the Central Okanagan region.

Black bears are the predominant species in the Okanagan.

Before winter, bears are in a state called hyperphagia. This means they are eating much more to prepare for hibernation. On average they are consuming about 20,000 calories a day.

Human settlements can become tempting to bears as an easy food source or if food is scarce in the wild.

The danger with increased bear activity near humans is that the animals can become habituated to people, and it creates an increased chance of a dangerous encounter.

Bjordal explained to Kelowna10 this also becomes a dangerous situation for the animal.

“If they do start exhibiting these behaviors and then they’re considered a public safety risk, conservation officers have no choice but to destroy the bears. And no one wants that to happen, conservation officers don’t want to take those steps.”

From April to September of this year, conservation officers have had to put down 298 black bears across B.C.

The animal may also be relocated. But Bjordal explained often bears don’t survive the move because they don’t know where food sources are in a new area.

The best way to prevent these outcomes is to limit bear and human contact by managing attractants.

An attractant is anything that smells like or is food to a bear. It’s recommended to not leave garbage outside for too long and to clean the BBQ.

It’s also recommended to collect any fruits from trees or the ground and to bring in bird feeders.

If someone encounters a bear face-to-face it’s best to stop, remain calm, and back away.

To report a bear sighting in a human community the 24/7 phone number for the BC Conservation Officer service is 1-877-952-7277.

WildSafeBC has an interactive map online that shows bear activity in the province as well as other wild animal encounters. Visitors to the site can narrow the search to timeframe, species of animal, and severity of encounter.