LIve in Northwestern Ontario? Love wildlife? Well, we
have it all!
Maybe too much, as we see black
bears numerous times in our neighbourhoods, city streets,
and our backyards!
I live in Thunder Bay, a fair sized
city of about 115,000 population on the Western shore of
Lake Superior. It is hard to believe that we are living in
the midst of a wildlife sanctuary where black bears are allowed
to roam without fear day or night within our neighbourhoods!
We are told to
1. Keep our garbage
inside our houses, until the weekly pickup (what century
is this?), Really sweet when we get 80 - 90 degree days in the summer!
2. Don't feed
dogs outside. A problem if you have pets that are not house animals.
3. Don't feed the birds (bears love sunflower
seeds). If you love to have songbirds, etc in your yard, you can wait
until the bears go into hibernation.
4. Don't shoot any bear in your
yard (call 911, if an emergency!) ps it may be hours before
a police response - from past experience by some callers
5. Call the MNR 800 number to report sightings! They will keep
records of how many reports and what areas are affected. If you
get tired of calling each day, then they will show a reduction
in the amount of complaints and therefore you don't really
have a problem!
5. Remove all
fruit from trees when ripe, (useless in most cases, as
it seems bears really favour garbage over fresh fruit!)
Bear visits are usually at night.
This is great when your family are afraid or very aware when
stepping outside or walking down the driveway and are scared
that they may surprise a visiting bear! I am sure the bear will
feel threatened by your sudden arrival and close proximity
to him in these circumstances. Won't be any time to call 911 when
this happens!
I grew up in a small town in Northwestern
Ontario. We lived in the midst of wilderness with no street lighting. We
burned our garbage (I really don't recommend this). We had
dogs outside, fed them there too. We left unwanted berries, fruit
on trees and shrubs. We played and wandered up and down our
'streets' without fear of crime or wild animals! I don't ever have
memories of bear concerns or dangers! We never seen any more than
the occasional bear, and if it should hang around it was
destroyed. This was a big event, as it was so rare!
Now, in our age of 'tolerance',
we are to retreat to our secure haven within our houses
and stay there! With fear of enjoying a walk after dusk, or encountering
a black bear by your own back door, there isn't really any
other choice to anyone afraid of their own safety.
A newspaper report in 2005 that
a black bear entered a house in Marathon through a window
and took its time raiding the kitchen with the family fearfully
forced into other areas of the house until it left, indicates
the help one gets from the officials that look after our
safety. The
recommendation the family got, along with the public? Keep your
windows closed!
The problem we are now facing- the
spring bear hunt in Ontario was banned. This did no good
for the black bear population, forcing them to spread out
in the search of food. People have been killed by bears.
This is discounted by the officials as 'rogue bears'. Apparently,
they think bears are like 'Pooh' and 'Smoky'. Maybe all the childhood
teachings have got to them and they can't see past their
fond memories of mother reading these tales to them?
Bears are equipped for killing! They
have the size, speed, teeth, claws, and temperament to use
them when they feel necessary. Humans used to use weapons to offer
themselves the same protection. We are now effectively stripped
of all means of self protection and are vulnerable to whims
of a wild roving animal!
Some interesting black bear sites:
Northern
Ontario. org
friends-of-fur.org/
Black
Bear photos on Spruce.ca
Police
taking on bears seen as waste of resources
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