It is indeed summer, and that means bear season in the qathet region. Both the berries and bears are awake and have become fast friends.
Beyond berries, though, there are other tasty treats that can attract furry friends of all sizes. Keeping bears at a distance is the safest way to enjoy their majesty while also protecting them from the challenges of bear habituation.
The best strategy to avoid too-close encounters on your property is to keep all food sources inaccessible. When that is not possible, make them less appealing.
If you’ve ever seen a bear skull close up, you may have noticed the nasal cavity is full of small honeycomb pockets, pointing to their incredible capacity to pick up on scents from a long distance. Even seemingly innocent traces of food left behind on recyclables stored outside or left at the curb for pickup can bring a bear (or other critter) to investigate.
Along with rinsing recyclables, and storing garbage inside until the morning of pickup at curbside or drop-off at the transfer station, here are a few other tips:
Picking the abundance of fruit falling from trees will do a lot to reduce walk-by snacking in your front yard. If you are unable to do the picking, invite family, friends and neighbours to enjoy the harvest, and to thank you by bringing a few baskets to your front door.
Any spoiled fruit can be brought for free to the Sunshine Disposal compost drop-off on Franklin Avenue in Powell River from 10 am to 4 pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays (maximum load size is two yards).
Smaller household loads (under 50 litres) can be brought to the Town Centre Recycling Depot from 8 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Saturday, or Tla’amin Recycling Depot (near the Salish Centre) from 9 am to 5 pm Tuesday to Saturday.
Less obvious ways to mitigate odours that attract include feeding pets indoors, removing bird feeders during bear season, and cleaning your barbecue grill after use.
If you backyard compost, avoid adding the smelliest items, like fish guts. Instead, wrap them in newspaper or a paper bag and freeze them until you can compost them in town or take them for disposal.
To report wildlife in conflict, contact the conservation officer at 1.877.952.7277.
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