A black bear had been reported accessing unsecured garbage and posing a threat to human safety in Sparwood Heights since the spring.

We, the people, contributed to the death of this bear by approaching it or feeding it, by intent or neglect with garbage left outdoors and apples on the tree or windfall fruit rotting on the ground!

Repeated exposure to people led to the bear posing a threat to human safety and ultimately its death.

Why don’t we just move bears out of town so they can live in the forest?

The BC Conservation Officer Service used to regularly trap and relocate bears. Then, in the late 1980s this practice was questioned. As a result, relocated bears were marked with an ear tag when they were released. Some were radio collared and tracked.

Two things became apparent:

– The survival rate of relocated bears was very low.  The bears often fail to adapt to their new habitat and may starve to death or be killed by animals that already occupy the area.

– Most relocated bears were finding their way back into their original home territory or became “problem” animals in other communities.

Relocating bears is not a solution. Keeping garbage stored indoors until collection day, cleaning up fruit trees and securing wildlife attractants is the best way to keep people safe, prevent property damage, and avoid the unnecessary killing of bears that come into conflict with people.

For more information visit www.wildsafebc.com

WildSafeBC Elk Valley

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