Photo: file photo
A garbage-habituated black bear that was put down in West Kelowna in 2019.
Black bear sightings in Westside communities spiked to record levels last year, driven in part by drought and wildfire.
According to a WildSafeBC report going before West Kelowna city council next week, there were 412 calls to conservation officers about black bears in the area spanning from Peachland to the North Westside.
That is 1.8 times the annual average from 2016-2020 of 231 reports.
“The increase in black bear reports this year is likely due to a combination of drought conditions that reduced natural food availability and nearby wildfires that resulted in bears needing to move to adjacent habitats,” the report said.
In August, while the Mount Law fire burned in Glenrosa and White Rock Lake fire burned in the North Westside, there were 111 black bear reports — a 358% increase from a typical August of 31 reports.
Similarly, September, October and November were far above average with increases in black bear reports by 236%, 205% and 179%, respectively.
“While it is normal to see an increase in black bear reports during the fall as bears are increasing their foraging to prepare for winter denning, the substantial increase this year over the previous five years suggests exceptional circumstances,” the report continued. “With the uncertainty in future environmental conditions due to climate change, there may continue to be increases in human-bear conflicts locally.”
The most common bear attractant flagged by conservation officers is by far garbage, which was linked to 64% of cases. Residential fruit trees, gardens and berries are also common, in 19% of cases.
WildSafeBC says fruit trees are a notable attractant and are likely underreported, due to the misconception that is a natural food that does not harm bears.
“However, fruit trees lead to bears becoming habitual to people and rewarded for spending time in communities foraging. When the fruit wanes, bears will turn to other food sources which often leads to escalating destructive behavior, human safety concerns, and the lethal removal of that bear,” the report says.
Residents are encouraged to utilize electric fencing to prevent wildlife conflicts.
The report also noted that bear aware residents share frustrations with WildSafeBC about conflicts in their neighborhoods and desire bear-resistant garbage cans and bylaws around attractant management.
Photo: Contributed
