Fall is here and with it, bear incidents are on the rise and they have been damaging garbage cans.
During September, the City of Castlegar has had to replace garbage cans for eight residents after bears rendered them unusable.
“September and October are the biggest interaction months with bears,” said Castlegar director of transportation and civic works Chris Barlow.
“This is a reminder for people to do their due diligence when setting out their garbage — making sure their carts are secure and if they don’t have a garage or carport, making sure they are securing their carts so they can’t be dragged off and worked on by a bear, that they keep their carts clear and clean, and that they wash them out.”
The first time you have to replace your bear-resistant garbage can, the city will pay the bill, but subsequent replacements will cost about $160.
However, WildsafeBC community coordinator for Castlegar Jenny Wallace is happy to report that in spite of the dry summer, September reports of bear and human conflicts are much quieter this year than in the previous two years.
Wallace has been hearing reports that people are still finding good huckleberries at higher elevations, which means the bears are too.
“So it seems that despite the weather we have had, there is still pretty good natural food up high,” she said.
Wallace credits a lot of the improvement to the city’s bear-resistant carts.
“I definitely think they are really helping. I know it’s not perfect, but nothing is when it comes to bears and people,” she said.
Wallace explained that the carts are especially helpful where there are fairly wild bears that have not been food conditioned already.
“They are not going to waste their time trying to get into your cart,” she said. “The problem is neighbourhoods with a long history of food-conditioned bears — nothing is going to keep those bears out except for a locked garage.”
“They need so much food right now, that they cant afford to hang out where they are not getting an instant reward,” explained Wallace, noting that a bear needs 20,000 calories a day at this time of year.
The most troublesome neighbourhoods include downtown, Blueberry and Arrow Lakes Drive. Those areas have more fruit and more people leaving their carts unlocked.
“That is the biggest problem with the new carts — the number of people that are leaving them outside unlocked,” emphasized Wallace. “Anytime a bear can get into an unlocked cart, it makes the neighbour’s locked carts less effective. It is teaching the bears that it is worth the effort.”
She also emphasized the need to have a long-term vision with human-bear conflict.
“Our problems in Castlegar are deep-rooted,” added Wallace. “There are bears that have been eating garbage here for so long that you can’t fix that problem overnight. It is going to take some time to get the really food-conditioned bears out of the population and start fresh with the bear-resistant carts.
As fall progresses both the city and WildsafeBC want to remind residents to not only keep their carts locked and secure but also to pick fruit on your property and clean up any fallen fruit.
Tips for preventing human-bear conflict and guidelines for the proper use of bear-resistant garbage carts can be found at on the city’s website at castlegar.ca/pdfs/Bear_Aware_3x7_2017.pdf.