With the recent bear activity on private property in the Cochrane area, the province is urging residents to stay informed about bear safety.
“It seems that a lot of folks are surprised that bears are even in the area, so we want to raise the awareness level with residents in the Cochrane area that they are in fact living in bear country,” said Jay Honeyman, human wildlife conflict biologist with Alberta Environment and Parks.
Honeyman said as industry expands in the area and Cochrane continues to grow, bears’ habitats are becoming increasingly fringed upon.
“As we create new developments, some of that may have been traditional bear habitat or some of those areas may have been used by bears – and now that people are living there they’re finding that out,” Honeyman explained.
Honeyman said most of the bears in the area have a certain level of habituation from being exposed to people on a fairly regular basis. He said black bears have always been in this area but grizzly bears are starting to migrate east making their appearances more common.
“As bears get used to being around people and places like that, they’re opportunists and have this drive to get food, it’s only a matter of time before they go and find unsecured food in those habituated areas,” Honeyman said.
“The issue of habituation is pretty common with bears but when it goes from that to food-conditioned, it’s a whole other level of concern. Now bears are looking at developments as a potential food source rather than just moving through – and some bears end up becoming a little more determined if they start finding success in getting that food,” Honeyman explained.
Specifically, bears are drawn to things like beehives, chicken coops, birdfeeders and ducks.
“There seems to be a bit of a movement towards growing our own food now and we’re seeing an increase in incidents related to things like chickens and beehives on small acreages,” Honeyman said.
Honeyman said there’s a common misconception that things like chain link fences and chicken wire are bear-proof.
“The solution to these issues is an electric fence – it’s tried and true and it works. It’s kind of the standard that we get people to go to if they want to carry on this type of an activity in bear country,” Honeyman said.
Honeyman said the fence can be expensive but “it’s the cost of doing business” in bear country. He said Alberta Fish & Wildlife has a limited amount of electric fence that can be rented by people dealing with bear activity.
He explained another option is to “open up the line of sight” on your property if you currently have an abundance of trees and shrubs.
“It let’s you see what’s in the area, and let’s bears see you coming as well so they can hit the road. If that doesn’t happen, now you’ve got a surprise encounter with a bear that’s trying to get food and you become a potential threat,” Honeyman explained.
If bears continuously frequent your property, Honeyman suggested looking into why they would be returning – possible reasons include an unprotected food source, access to a creek or stream, or your property might be along a travel corridor.
“If bears get the food award, they’re going to keep coming back. As they get more and more determined, they may not have gotten through your chicken wire fence the first time but they’ve gone to the neighbours and got a taste of chicken so they will get through that wire at some point,” Honeyman said.
Once bears start accessing these unnatural food sources, Parks and Environment must capture the bears and relocate them. Honeyman explained this approach isn’t always successful.
“You’re dropping a bear into another bear’s area and it’s kind of a 50/50 chance whether they’re going to make it or not. So it’s not the best thing for bears but it really is one of the few options we have once bears start getting unnatural food within a developed area,” Honeyman explained.
For more tips about bear safety, visit bearsmart.alberta.ca.
