Thu 21 Dec 2006
Pique Newsmagazine, December 21, 2007
A malnourished black bear cub hitched a ride from Whistler to Squamish this week and has ended up at Critter Care in Langley.
The cub-of-the-year, named Candy, was seen by conservation officers at the former Whistler landfill site on Monday, Dec. 18. The cub and its mother, which had apparently abandoned it, are among several bears in the Whistler area that have not gone into hibernation because unnatural food sources are still available to them.
Candy had been previously identified by conservation officers and was wearing an ear tag.
On Tuesday the conservation office received a call about a bear cub wandering in the Squamish Industrial Park. The young bear was tranquilized and identified as the same cub that had been seen in Whistler the day before.
Conservation officer Dave Jevons said it appears Candy hitched a ride in a truck.
“There’s no way a young cub like that could make it from Whistler to Squamish in a day, not in the condition it was in,” Jevons said.
“To find it in Squamish was quite a surprise.”
It’s believed the cub was inside a garbage bin that was transported from Whistler to Squamish.
“No one saw the cub leave a vehicle in Squamish,” Jevons said, “but that’s the only explanation.”
The female cub did not appear to have any injuries but Jevons said she was underweight and malnourished.
Candy was transported to Critter Care Wildlife Society, an animal rehabilitation facility in the Fraser Valley, where she will be nursed back to health and released in the spring.
Judy Poel, a caretaker at Critter Care, said Candy was doing fine Thursday morning.
“There’s a feel-good side to the story but there’s also frustration,” Jevons said.
The frustration comes from the fact people are still making garbage and un-natural food sources available to bears, and those food sources are keeping bears from hibernating.
“It’s still critical that people control their garbage,” Jevons said. “As long as food is available the bears will stay out.”
He added that the cub and its mother had been seen feeding at the landfill and the recycling shed at the landfill for the last couple of months.
Critter Care is run by volunteers and the society relies on donations, memberships and grants for funding. Funds and donations will be needed for Candy’s food, vet bills and housing through the winter. Whistlerites can make a tax deductible donation through the Get Smart Bear Society online at www.bearsmart.com or at Critter Care’s website is www.crittercarewildlife.org.
Jevons said anyone with any concerns about wildlife or environmental violations is asked to call 1-877-952-7277 or 604-905-BEAR.
Bear Tracks: Bears Celebrating Christmas Too
by Lori Homstol, Whistler Question, December 21, 2006
Well, it’s December and most people are thinking more about Christmas than about bears. But if you think bears are snoozing contentedly in their dens and it’s ok to leave birdseed and garbage outside, you need to keep reading!
Christmas came early for two bears that are feasting on grain in Fitzsimmons Creek and two more that are breaking into garbage sheds. (Well, if you call rolling up the shed door with his paw and simply lifting the lid of the garbage bin breaking in). One of our collared bears is sneaking entire jugs of frying grease from somewhere in the Village, and another one is hitting birdfeeders in Alpine. The fact that at least 4 bears, all of whom have enough fat for the winter, is indicative of how available garbage is to bears in Whistler. Why go to den to conserve energy when you can eat at the garbage buffet and get even fatter?
We’ve heard some pretty amazing stories since we started our research. We have reports of people hand-feeding m&ms to denned bears on the ski hill; a woman in Rebagliati Park feeding a bear part of her sandwich with one hand while she pushed her baby carriage with her other hand. Last year, a bear walked up to the 2nd floor of a restaurant and helped himself to a birthday cake. Another (big) bear who apparently likes beer: finds cases people have left outside to cool during winter and shot-guns every one of them. Then there’s the bear who went through the kitchen window while the resident was hitting him with a stand-up fan; I guess his breakfast smelled pretty good! Bears are pretty smart – all it takes is one group of kids throwing potatoes out their window to a bear for their own entertainment and pretty soon the behaviour escalates to the point where that bear is turning doorknobs with his teeth and heading straight for the refrigerator. The only thing he’ll leave is the tomatoes and maybe a bear-patty or two.
As most people know, the reality is that this humorous behavior has some not-so-funny results. In 2006 there were over 90 reports of bears in houses or attempting to get into houses, one of those bears swatted a resident as he fled from the house, and 9 bears were killed. Make no mistake, officials cannot tolerate bears that enter homes. But as we all know, a wild bear doesn’t wake up one day, amble off to Whistler and venture through the front door of a house. It takes months of escalating experiences hanging around people and accessing garbage etc. to get into that comfort zone. Of the 27 bears we have radio-collared or ear-tagged for our study, only 2 do not eat garbage or human food that we know of. I worry about their destiny.
We are teaching our bears behavior that costs us money in property damage and costs bears their lives. I think change is coming, but we do need to get better at managing our attractants. So the next time you hear about a bear paddling around in a hotel swimming pool as guests scatter screaming it’s ok to have a little laugh about it, I certainly do. But don’t forget to think about why that bear is doing what it’s doing, and what it means for that bear to be so comfortable around people. It means that if you’re back here next year, chances are pretty good that particular bear won’t be. And whether you’re a full-time or seasonal resident or a visitor, I hope that dead bears are not the legacy you want to leave. So give a bear a Christmas present and please be responsible all winter long with your garbage, recycling, pet food, birdseed and (believe it or not!) motor oil.
Lori Homstol is a member of the Bear Research Team, working to examine the practical utility of a variety of non-lethal aversive conditioning methods for responding to ‘conflict’ black bear behaviour.
Sylvia Dolson
Executive Director,
Get Bear Smart Society
204-3300 Ptarmigan Place
Whistler, BC V0N 1B3
Phone/Fax: 604-905-4209
www.bearsmart.com
“Coexisting with Bears”
November 24th, 2007 at 10:16 am
I was reading the article about bears in Whistler. Near the end of the article was the sentence:”When we inadvertently moved too close to one bear, it snorted and stomped, once, in our direction”. It seems to me that would be the time to use a rubber bullet to teach the bear not to threaten humans. I would expect that using a water hose when the bear is grazing would be totally ineffective. One would be teaching that grazing is wrong which a bear would never understand. To punish him when he makes threatening gestures would teach him that humans are to be avoided not threatened.
November 24th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I was reading the article about bears in Whistler. Near the end of the article was the sentence:”When we inadvertently moved too close to one bear, it snorted and stomped, once, in our direction”. It seems to me that would be the time to use a rubber bullet to teach the bear not to threaten humans. I would expect that using a water hose when the bear is grazing would be totally ineffective. One would be teaching that grazing is wrong which a bear would never understand. To punish him when he makes threatening gestures would teach him that humans are to be avoided not to be threatened.