59 bears destroyed in record-breaking bad season
By Castlegar Source
Fifty-nine bears have been destroyed in the region so far this year; a year Conservation Officer Ben Beetlestone says has been a record-breaking one for bears in Castlegar (15 have been destroyed in the greater Castlegar area).
“There’s no increase in the bear population, I don’t think, but there have been more issues with (bear/human conflict), for sure,” Beetlestone said, explaining there have been almost 1,000 complaints called into the RAPP (Report a Poacher or Polluter) line alone, including 22 calls about grizzlies. “And I don’t even know how many calls the RCMP and Bear Aware have gotten so far,” he said, adding that number also doesn’t include people who walked into the office in person and those who called conservation officers at home. Betty Offin, of Bear Aware, said last year saw Bear Aware fielding 84 complaints, “and we’re already over 170 calls this year, and we’re only halfway through the season.” Beetlestone said 59 is an incredibly high number, but conservation officers only destroy animals that are aggressive, and posing a threat to public safety. “The numbers speak for themselves – 1,000 complaints and only 59 (destroyed bears),” he said. “If they’re just getting into someone’s garbage, we encourage that person to secure their garbage rather than destroying the bear.” Beetlestone said no one knows why this spring saw so many bruins around town – it was ideal spring for bears with wet, cool weather – but he does know human/bear conflict will likely get worse this year as the season progresses and the animals prepare for hibernation. Poor fruit crops are making food scarce for bears – last year saw bumper huckleberry production in the higher hills, which kept the bears from ranging into town looking for food. This year, however, is lean. “With the Harvest Rescue program last year, we picked 8,000 pounds of fruit for local residents,” Offin said. “This year, we’ve only picked 200 pounds so far.” This means bears will have to seek other food sources … and some area residents insist on providing them through unsecured garbage and unharvested crops. Beetlestone said residents need to be particularly diligent this year in eliminating bear attractants, making the city inhospitable to bears for the sake of humans and animals alike. “Some people put electrified fences around gardens and orchards, are careful in securing garbage and clean up windfalls and rotting fruit – lots of people have fruit trees, gardens and garbage … but no problem with bears at all.” He said that bears, unlike cougars, have no desire to prey on humans – the food sources they seek in town are usually garbage, or unharvested fruit and gardens, or pet food left outside. He said they typically only become aggressive when scared or stressed, or to protect cubs or a food source. “People will also see bears in their yard and do nothing – just watch them or take pictures,” he said. “That’ll make the bear comfortable there. You need to scare him away, right away – bang pots and pans, yell, throw things at him, so he knows this isn’t a good place for him to be.” He said you don’t have to approach or antagonize the bear – just be loud and scary from a distance, and if the bear gets aggressive, go back inside the house and call the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277. Finally, he said he calls the RCMP when a bear needs to be destroyed, so they’ll know what’s going on when there’s gunfire in town.
