As the weather has gotten cooler, residents of the Peace region have seen more bear sightings. In Peace River, we live on the valley, which is prime wildlife habitat to start with. But at this time of year, bears are looking for the high calorie foods that they need to gain the necessary fat for winter.
Biodiversity and landscape specialist for Alberta Environment Parks, Courtney Hughes, says that bears will come into our residential areas because we have crab apple trees, berry bushes, plum trees, pumpkins; all this sweet produce acts as an attractant. Her best advice to avoid bears coming near your home is to take care of your garbage and recyclables. She advises people to only put garbage out in the mornings and take it back and put it in a secure spot if it hasn’t been picked up. She says “if they are sticky and sweet recyclables, they will think it’s a food reward and will try to get into that, to get those calories to put on fat.”
Hughes suggests that you should put bird feed away because it is high in calories and that is what bears are looking for. If you want to put bird feed out, she recommends waiting until hibernating season.
Hughes gave some advice on what to do if you come across a bear, saying “if you startle a bear, they might pop their jar, they might pounce up and down a bit and that’s all to tell you you need to back out of your space.” If you find yourself in this situation, she says “stay calm, don’t run, don’t yell. If a bear sees you, you actually want to stay calm. You can put up your hands, talk calmly to the bear and back away out of that space. Often, that bear is going to turn tail and walk the opposite way of you.” She also says that while you are trying to safely leave the situation, continue keeping eye contact with the bear and to make yourself look as big as possible.
She says if you have a dog, put them on a leash as dogs and bears are not a good mix. Dogs also tend to hide behind their owners in this kind of a scenario, putting you in a dangerous position. Hughes says if you have children with you, pick them up or have everyone cluster around you until you can safely leave the area.
-LG
