A Ucluelet black bear has followed its nose into peril.
The region celebrated a significant achievement in 2023, , but that performance doesn鈥檛 seem destined for a repeat as Ucluelet鈥檚 wayward bruin has become a frequent diner at unsecured food sources around town.
鈥淲e鈥檙e having a challenging time with that particular bear,鈥� WildSafeBC Pacific Rim coordinator Bob Hansen told the Westerly News. 鈥淚t鈥檚 showing up all over town and it鈥檚 really getting good at finding garbage and other things of interest that are not secured. It鈥檚 to the point now where we receive reports everyday and, sometimes, multiple reports everyday. It鈥檚 really highlighting for us all the things that we need to improve on.鈥�
He said two other bears are breaking into bins in Tofino as well as one in Millstream and another in Hitacu, but Ucluelet鈥檚 bear seems to be sniffing its way to death row the fastest.
He added WildSafeBC keeps track of the region鈥檚 bears with the help of reports made directly to the organization as well as local social media posts and information received from the BC Conservation Officer Service and Parks Canada.
鈥淭hrough that detailed tracking day-to-day as the season goes on, we actually get a very good idea of the description and behaviour of individual bears,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a pretty good idea who鈥檚 who, where they are and where they tend to be active.鈥�
He said the bear that鈥檚 found itself in trouble in Ucluelet was safely foraging on natural foods earlier in the season before it discovered accessible garbage, compost and other unnatural sources.
鈥淯nfortunately, we鈥檝e seen it happen with many bears over time, something in particular tempts them away from the natural foods and, once they experience that they can get an easy meal and easy calories from unnatural foods, they quickly shift their energy towards finding those unnatural food rewards,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 happened with this bear鈥or many weeks, it was just foraging naturally in and around the community, but now it鈥檚 really focused. It鈥檚 a prime example of what we describe as a food conditioned bear.鈥�
The and Ucluelet鈥檚 is running out of time to move along before the Conservation Officer Service is forced to step in.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really at risk of meeting a bad end,鈥� Hansen said. 鈥淭he Conservation Officer Service have to balance public safety versus conservation of the animal and, at some point, they may have to make a tough decision and try to remove the animal. That tends to be how things go once a bear is seriously food conditioned.鈥�
He said local residents must collectively commit to two key actions to help keep the region鈥檚 wildlife wild, explaining that all garbage and compost carts must be anchored in place and the brass carabiners being used to keep lids shut must be replaced with steel ones.
鈥淭he biggest challenge facing all our communities right now is something we can fix, but it really will take every single resident to take action themselves,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f (the bins) are outside and they have stuff in them, then they need to be anchored so the bear can鈥檛 drag them off and (people) need to replace the brass carabiners with steel carabiners. Those two actions would hugely reduce the number of reports and conflicts that are happening.鈥�
The brass carabiners were provided to residents with the new garbage and compost bins passed out as part of the Alberni Clayoquot Regional District鈥檚 upgraded waste collection program in 2022. Bears have figured out how to break through the brass like butter though, so residents are being urged to replace the brass carabiners with steel ones available at local stores.
He added WildSafeBC Pacific Rim recently distributed information packages to about 250 residences in an effort to shut off the dire straits bear鈥檚 access to waste and push it towards natural food sources.
鈥淲e went door to door to door in multiple neighbourhoods where the bear鈥檚 been most active to ensure that each resident has the information they need and we鈥檒l continue doing that from this point on,鈥� he said.
He added information can also be found on WildSafeBC Pacific Rim鈥檚 website at wildsafebc.com as well as its Facebook page and the regional district鈥檚 website at www.acrd.bc.ca.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a vast amount of easily accessible information available to people through those sources,鈥� he said.
He suggested a solid berry crop should help keep most bears well-fed and out of trouble.
鈥淥ne of the things that鈥檚 giving me some hope right now is that it鈥檚 the best berry crop I鈥檝e seen in years,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much natural food available to the bears right now and I suspect that鈥檚 why we don鈥檛 have more issues going on in our communities. The frequency of conflicts seems to have slowed with the exception of the Ucluelet bear鈥f we reduce the ease of accessing carts, then that鈥檚 really going to encourage (bears) to focus on those abundant natural food sources.鈥�
