The dog food contributed to this and other bears later damaging vehicles and buildings while looking for more food, resulting in the bears being dispatched.
Fernie Bear Safety starts with understanding what brings bears into neighbourhoods, how quickly they learn where food can be found, and how our actions can determine what happens next.
From the Field with Frank de Boon
Frank spent 30 years as a BC Conservation Officer in the Elk Valley. Since retiring in 2018, he has continued writing about wildlife and is working on a collection of stories drawn from his experiences in the field.
Fernie Bear Safety Starts With Preventing Food Rewards
“Is this where a bear got into the house?” I ask the woman who answers the front door of a residence in the subdivision at the base of Fernie Alpine Resort.
“Yes, it came in through a window in the back.”
“I think I see the problem.”
“What’s that?”
I point to the outside mat in front of the door that has WELCOME printed above a black bear image.
She laughs and leads me into the kitchen at the back of the house.
“The sliding window in the back door was open and the bear pushed the screen out to climb in. It came over to the fridge and pulled open the freezer drawer on the bottom.”
She slides open the drawer to demonstrate.
“It took out this frozen steak and was chewing on it, but must have had a hard time because it dropped it on the floor.”
The teeth marks are obvious on the packaged meat, back in the drawer.
“There was some fruit on the counter and it must have got into that too, because it’s gone.”
“Was anyone home when the bear showed up?”
“My husband was sleeping upstairs for nightshift at the mine and thought he heard something but didn’t come down to check. Said he thought it was me and went back to sleep.”
“You weren’t home then?”
“No, I just went to town to pick up something and wasn’t gone long. The bear was gone when I got back and I closed up the window in the door and called you guys.”
“Okay, let’s have a look out back.”
We go out the back door into some large trees that grow right to the house. There’s no access to drive in or park a bear trap nearby.
“We haven’t had any other complaints in the neighbourhood for a while and I can set a bear trap out front, but I don’t know if it’ll show up again and we don’t want to catch the wrong bear. Can you make sure that the window is closed on the door and no other ground-floor windows are open for it to get in?”
“The other opening windows are all upstairs and we’ll make sure the window in this door is always locked.”
“Okay, that would be great and you can call the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 if you have any other sightings or incidents.”
“Thanks. Maybe I’ll get a new mat for the front door too.”
Why Bears Take the Risk
In late summer and fall, bears experience hyperphagia, an increased appetite and feeding frenzy that compels them to eat as much food as possible to build up fat reserves.
This food intake prepares them for winter hibernation, when they are inactive and don’t eat or drink for several months.
Coming into town during this state, they are equivalent to a teenage boy staring into a refrigerator while in the midst of a growth spurt.
They may start with their favourites, but will eat anything that looks, smells or resembles food in any way, shape or form. They’re not leaving until there’s nothing left that could be interpreted as food.
As long as there is anything edible, they’ll stick around to take advantage of it.
Just as a puppy will chew on new boots or table legs, a bear will eat almost anything to occupy its mouth and gut while looking for something else.
Food is the driving force for them and obtaining it leads to many poor choices. If there is food associated with people or near people, caution can be thrown to the wind and bears will continue to stay around.
Whatever they did to acquire food is stored in their memory banks and they will continue to use that behaviour to benefit themselves.
If dogs learned as easily, we wouldn’t need dog trainers.
When Bears Become Comfortable Around People
Any food sources near people can enable bears to become more tolerant of people and less likely to distance themselves.
The longer they are in proximity to people, the more comfortable they become and distances have a tendency to decrease with time and exposure.
Bears feeding on apple trees at night can become conditioned to daytime feeding the longer they are in the area.
A taste of garbage or other unnatural food will shift their focus and displace natural caution and wariness, to the detriment of both people and bears.
Report Human-Wildlife Conflicts
To report dangerous wildlife, human-wildlife conflicts or suspected violations, contact the BC Conservation Officer Service RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
About Frank de Boon
For 30 years, Frank de Boon worked as a BC Conservation Officer in the Elk Valley, where human-wildlife conflict was a significant part of his work. He responded to incidents involving black and grizzly bears, investigated conflicts, worked with residents and property owners, and helped communities reduce attractants and other conditions that draw wildlife into populated areas.
Over three decades in the field, Frank developed extensive practical knowledge of bear behaviour, conflict prevention and the challenges of safely sharing the landscape with large carnivores. Since retiring in 2018, he has continued writing about wildlife issues and is working on a collection of stories drawn from those experiences.
Earlier this year, Frank edited and published My Father’s War, his father’s recollection of growing up in Holland during the Second World War, when Frank’s grandparents were involved in the Dutch Resistance.
