Late summer, the worst time of the year for black bears having to be put down, is approaching.
An environmental group called the Fur-Bearers tracks statistics of bears killed by conservation officers each year, and the association has found that September is an especially dangerous time of year for bears that are on the search for food. In 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021, September was the month with the most bears killed by conservation officers in British Columbia, and in 2017, 2022 and 2023, it was the second-deadliest month for bears.
During all of last year, 303 black bears were put down across B.C. Black bears are killed by conservation officers if they becomes listed as 'Category 1' and an investigation determines they are either a serious threat to public safety, significant property damage has occurred, or the bear is injured or suffering from distressed health.
animals listed in Category 1 include those that have attacked, injured or killed humans, domestic pets or livestock, and may also include bears that have entered temporary or permanent dwellings.
Lesley Fox is executive director of the Fur-Bearers. During the summer, Fox said residents with fruit trees can plan ahead. Those with fruit trees on the land who don't expect to be able to pick them all in a timely manner can connect with a local gleaning program which involves volunteers collecting unwanted fruit from trees and gardens that would otherwise go to waste.
"It's a great way to promote food security and also helps homeowners manage their harvest, because it can be a lot of work to manage their fruit乌鸦传媒�" Fox said. "People just need to be proactive and start making arrangements now, that way they're prepared at the end of summer."
Reducing attractants is another method people can use reduce the number of negative encounters between people and bears.
"Clean up your attractants, we don't want animals getting into the garbage because they get injured or get sick."
Fox said a bear becoming accustomed to going through trash is highly preventable, and non-compliance issues might be an opportunity for a district to take a zero-tolerance approach.
"Co-existence is a daily intention, and attractant management, being bear-aware, those are daily intentions and sometimes people, businesses and even bylaw can get complacent, we can get lazy."
From 2015 to 2024, the lowest year for bears killed by conservation officers in Nanaimo was 2020, with zero deaths, while the highest was in 2022 with 10.
In terms of provincial numbers, 303 bears killed by conservation officers in 2024 is a sharp decline from 603 in 2023. Fox said while the number is lower than the previous year, she still perceives hundreds of dead bears as a government, education and enforcement failure.
"It almost should be perceived like you see statistics sometimes for workplace injury, the goal is zero. We should target zero, and that might sound unrealistic to some, but that's the ideal and we should be working towards that," she said. "Until we can start seeing a decrease that's measurable year after year after year, I'm not feeling overly optimistic or encouraged."
The biggest message she said people should take away is black bears are not to be feared, but people should be respectful and give a bear the space it needs.
"There's a lot of misinformation that can paint a picture that black bears are somehow aggressive or problematic. The reality is they're a native species, they belong on the landscape, black bears are extremely intelligent, they're curious, they have tight family bonds 乌鸦传媒� especially a mother and her cubs. They belong here. Demonstrating some tolerance and compassion for these animals can go a long way."
