Garbage was tossed for tender vittles by two black bears, a mother and her cub, last weekend. Wildsafe B.C. reminds residents bears are year-round residents and trash needs to be in bruin-proof containers.
Image Credit: WildSafe B.C.
September 06, 2013 - 12:17 PM
PENTICTON - A female black bear and her cub trashed some Naramata garbage bins for easy meals this weekend.
WildSafe B.C. co-ordinator Zoe Kirk was called about the bruins eating out of garbage cans on Saturday evening. She along with local volunteer Craig Henderson picked up the loose trash and put it into a bear-proof container. On Sunday night waste was put out on the curb in front of more than 15 homes and several cans were again tossed for the smelly vittles inside.
Kirk says homeowners have become complacent about bears not being in Naramata even though the opposite is true. Naramata supports a year-round population of black bears who come for the fresh fruit and spawning Kokanee salmon. Garbage is an additional attractant that bears will scavenge if available.
"The old adage that a fed bear is a dead bear is especially true in this case," she says. "A mother sow will teach her young about available food sources. A young bear trained to search out garbage is a high risk to humans and will generally be put down."
Kirk does not want residents thinking government officials are in the business of killing bears. Roughly six bears used to be shot and killed in Naramata each year before new garbage rules were put in place.
“We can’t change the fact bears will eat garbage when available,” Kirk says. “But we can change people’s habits so that bears, children and other residents are not put at risk.”
For more information go to WildSafe B.C. or call Kirk at 250-490-4110 or zkirk@rdos.bc.ca.
To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, tweet @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict
News from © iNFOnews, 2013