Bear Spotted
On October 4, 2024, the City received a report that a bear was spotted in the area near River Street and Hamilton Avenue. It is a potent reminder to remove attractants and learn how to be BearSmart.
Be Bear Smart
Every year hundreds of bears are destroyed in BC as a result of conflicts between people and bears. In rare instances, people are also injured or even killed as a result of these conflicts. Most of these problems begin when people allow bears to access non-natural food sources such as garbage.
Spring and fall are times to be particularly alert. In spring, bears are particularly hungry after a winter of hibernating. In the fall, bears are also driven to eat as much as possible to put on weight before their winter hibernation. Around these times, residents may see bears within city limits as they look for food.
Bears are very opportunistic and there is nothing they love more than being able to find a lot of food for little effort. The search for easy snacks often brings bears and people into conflict when bears discover that yards can contain an assortment of high-calorie treats that include garbage, bird feeders, compost, unclean barbecues, pet food and fruit trees.
Once a bear learns to equate homes with easy meals it becomes extremely difficult to keep it away from a town, camp ground or neighbourhood where it has previously found food.
Some simple steps to reduce the possibility of a bear finding food include:
- Reducing the time that garbage is available to bears by waiting until the morning of collection day to leave the garbage bin out for pickup.
- Ensuring there is no leftover food or grease on a barbecue by scraping and burning the grill as well as emptying the grease trap after each use.
- Keeping all pet food stored indoors and refraining from leaving food out for any wild animals, including birds and stray cats, in the spring, summer and fall.
- Reducing the odour and attractiveness of compost to bears by mixing it regularly or treating it with lime.
Properly managing possible bear attractants can help to make communities safer both for people and bears.
The City of Merritt asks residents to manage their household attractants such as garbage, bird feeders, fruit trees and barbecue scraps. Pick your fruit and do not let it accumulate on the ground. If you have chickens, beehives, or other livestock, protect them using an electric fence. Lock garbage securely in your garage or shed until the morning of collection.
We need to ensure that bears are not learning to find unnatural foods in our community. This can lead to food-conditioning, a learned behaviour where bears associate people with food.
Please report conflicts with bears to the Conservation Officer Service’s RAPP hotline at 1.877.952.7277. Also visit www.bearaware.bc.ca.
More Reading
- Black Bears Brochure | from WildSafeBC
- Who’s Who: Know Your Bears Brochure | from Province of BC
