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By Liam Verster

Bear Aware

Public warned to be cautious of animals displaced by wildfires

Aug 16, 2021 | 12:00 PM

As the wildfire situation continues to ravage much of British Columbia, including the Okanagan, a B.C. conservation officer is warning the public that wild animals are being displaced and encounters may increase.

Mike Richardson, an officer based in Vernon, said people need to be wary of wild animals being nearby.

“Always make noise when you’re hiking or in the bush, because you never want to surprise a bear,” said Richardson.

“Be wary of your surroundings as well, so you’re looking for things from bears. Basically you’re looking for their scat. If you see fresh scat or you see areas where a bear is feeding, like ripping apart logs and stuff like that, or if you find a carcass that maybe it’s been feeding on, you don’t want to be there so you definitely want to leave that area if that occurs.”

Richardson added bears aren’t the only animal that will be displaced due to the fires, so will cougars, deer, moose and others, but bears tend to be the animal people have the most interactions with.

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In order to reduce those interactions outside of the wild, people should be Bear Aware and bear proof any potential food sources.

“They are going to be looking for food so it’s so important that the first thing is your garbage storage. Always have your garbage locked up in a shed or in the garage, never beside your house or anything like that because bears have amazing (sense of) smell and they can smell food so it’s always good to have it locked up,” said Richardson.

“Fruit trees are another one. Pick your fruit as quick as possible and even the stuff off the ground. Clean you barbecue after every use. With compost, always be weary and never put food stuff in compost bins, and if you do cover it up with a little bit of lime (a smell suppressing powder) or something like that to keep the scent down. Never feed your pets outside and if you do bring the pets in, and also for anybody that has livestock, it’s so important to make sure you have night pens for them so you can lock them away at night so they won’t be an easy target for any cougar or bear that happens to be walking by.”

Richardson adds that even without taking fires into consideration, there have been increased bear activity and sightings in recent years, especially in the fall when bears are feeding in preparation of hibernation. He asks that all people take measures to bear proof their properties, because bears won’t bother if there’s no food sources, but they will remember and return to places where they have found food before.

People that encounter wild animals like bears and cougars can report the sightings to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service’s Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) hotline at 1-877-182-7277.