As bears are waking up from hibernation, residents should take steps to prevent close encounters

KAMLOOPS — It’s that time of the year again when bears wake up from hibernation and start to circle around for food. According to WildSafe BC, Kamloops had 579 reports to Conservation Officers about black bears in 2023. Even though bear attacks are rare, people should still prevent encounters to happen.

The key is managing any wildlife attractants — items that are usually left outside and have a smell.

“Even if you can’t smell it, bears have a much stronger sense of smell. It’s things like your garbage cans, bird feeders, even the seed and bird feeders that has a strong smell. Pet food left outdoors, dirty barbecues, anything of that sort of nature that would have a smell,” explained Gabriela De Romeri, the communications coordinator at WildSafe BC.

If property owners don’t remove attractants, the bear is more likely to return.

“That’s where food conditioning can take place. If they’re getting access to wildlife attractants time and time again, if they’re visiting that area over and over again and they’re accessing some kind of food reward for that behavior, they’ll continue to come back,” she said.

However, encounters might still happen and people are advised to stay calm and don’t run.

“If you encounter a bear, the best thing to do is stand up, stay nice and calm, and start backing up away from the bear. Not too fast that you trip over yourself and fall over. That wouldn’t be good. But also at a decent pace where you’re putting space in between yourself and that creature,” De Romeri advised.

People also want to ensure that bears don’t become comfortable in their neighbourhood.

“If you are inside a car or a house, or somewhere where you’re safe and a bear couldn’t be startled or feel like it needs to defend itself against you, you’re encouraged to also actually kind of haze that bear out of the area, make sure that the bear isn’t even comfortable hanging out in your neighborhood,” De Romeri said. “Bang the pots and pans out on the porch or honk the horn if you’re in the car.”

Anyone who sees a bear or any human-wildlife interaction is advised to report it to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.