The bears are out and filling up on food.
But Coquitlam residents haven’t been reporting the bruins as much to the province’s Conservative Officer Service.
According to B.C.'s environment ministry, the service has fielded 404 calls this year compared to 734 calls last year between January and July.
A designated Bear Smart city, Coquitlam recently issued some reminders to residents to help steer bears away from garbage bins, pet food, birdseed and fruit trees — the most common attractants for hungry bears:
- protect your picnics
- store food when you’re at parks
- protect your property
- lock the windows and doors (or gates) to where your garage bins are stored
- put your garbage bins out after 5:30 a.m. on collection day
- avoid rolling them out the night before
- put your food waste into the green cart
- it’s picked up weekly
In a release, Caresse Selk, Coquitlam’s environment manager, said city staff are patrolling residential areas and handing out $500 fines to homeowners who leave their trash out — even unintentionally — and draw bears to the area.
Bears habituated to human food cause a public safety concern, she said.
If you see a bear:
- stop and stay calm
- don’t scream or run
- make yourself look big
- talk in a calm voice
- back away slowly
- warn others close by
To report emergencies, like a bear is causing public safety concerns or damaging property, call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
馃摳 Have you seen a bear in your yard recently? Send us your images to [email protected] for online publication. Be sure to tell us where the picture was taken, as well as the name of the photographer (for credit).
