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VIDEO: Hide your picnic baskets, the bears are out

Conservation officers are expecting to see highest number of bears in recent years this summer
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You can expect more bears roaming around B.C. this summer, as bear populations are at their highest peak in recent years.

Thatѻýs according to the B.C. Conservation Service, who destroyed 106 black bears, and four grizzly bears around the province in April and May ѻý the highest numbers of bears killed ever recorded by the ministry.

ѻýWeѻýll have very busy years and then itѻýll slow down again,ѻý conservation officer Simon Gravel said. ѻýWeѻýre probably at the top of the curve this year.ѻý

The number of reports being made to the conservation service RAPP line also doubled to more than 3,000 calls in the same time period.

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As more cities get on board with bear-smart techniques, like bear-proof garbage bins, Gravel said the population surge is being mitigated.

Destroying ѻý or euthanizing ѻý bears is the last option, and the sooner people report a sighting, the likelier conservation services can instead rely on non-lethal techniques, including relocating the bears or hazing ѻý when officers use techniques to chase bears out of neighbourhoods.

Bears getting comfortable and wondering into peoplesѻý backyards ѻýall start with rewards,ѻý Gravel said, which include overgrown fruit and nut trees and garbage being left out.



ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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