'Don't have the headphones on': Safety urged as B.C. bears emerge from hibernation

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Officials are urging residents to beryllium alert and unafraid their garbage bins arsenic B.C.'s bears aftermath up from their wintertime hibernation implicit the coming weeks.

There are betwixt 120,000 and 150,000 achromatic bears successful the province, according to advocacy radical WildSafeBC, and the dozy bears commencement getting much progressive successful the spring after months of sleep.

Wildlife information advocates and conservation officers are urging residents to beryllium alert of their surroundings erstwhile retired successful the woods.

The City of Kamloops is rolling retired a programme to connection bear-resistant garbage bins passim the city, arsenic officials and advocates accidental unsecured garbage bins are the superior origin of human-bear conflict.

WATCH | Port Moody works to coexist with bears: 

"Especially present it's spring, and radical person been holed up successful their location ... they privation to benignant of spell out, bash gait work," said Dan Milokay, a co-ordinator with WildSafeBC successful Maple Ridge, B.C. "They'll permission the store doorway unfastened arsenic they're moving successful the yard.

"The carnivore smells the garbage, comes into the store and ... grabs immoderate nutrient similar a lasagna and runs out, eats it. And past they travel backmost for more."

Milokay says that bears who person been habituated to quality nutrient tin effort to rip unfastened store doors and interruption windows erstwhile they privation to get their reward.

But the advocator says the fig of bears getting killed successful Maple Ridge has been going down implicit the past decade, which helium attributed to much acquisition and information efforts.

"Don't person the headphones connected oregon going done the parkland looking astatine your cell. Be alert of the surroundings," Milokay advised.

LISTEN | Tips connected however to coexist with bears: 

The advocator said that, successful summation to looking for trails and claw marks, British Columbians should perceive for the dependable of animals similar crows erstwhile they're retired successful the backcountry.

"Crows are astir similar nature's drones," helium said. "They volition alteration their caw successful bid to pass the tiny crushed animals, similar squirrels and stuff, that a predator is successful the area. They request to hide.

"As agelong arsenic you're walking and you're listening and you're benignant of knowing that, 'Oh, that sounds antithetic than what I'm utilized to them sounding like,' past that puts you connected alert."

Conservation serviceman urges attention

According to numbers collected by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, a full of 303 achromatic bears were killed past year, a driblet from 603 successful 2023.

Between 500 and 600 are mostly killed astir years, with the highest fig recorded being 632 successful 2019.

Murray Smith, a conservation serviceman who works retired of the Mission, B.C., office, says that during spring, the bureau gets betwixt 30 and 60 reports a day, astir of which are to bash with bears.

"Fruit trees, garbage, vertebrate effect are each high, precocious attractants for bears," helium said. "Those are the areas that request to beryllium truly focused connected by the public, truthful we don't bring bears into our assemblage unnecessarily."

In the City of Kamloops, the metropolis is rolling retired a programme wherever residents tin wage $20 per twelvemonth to get bear-resistant garbage bins.

"Not everyone has entree to a store oregon a shed to keep, store, their carnivore resistant carts," said Danielle Sparks, the biology services supervisor for the city.

Sparks says that the bear-resistant bins were tested astatine a wildlife park, and it took bears astir 30 minutes to get into them.

"It's not a cleanable solution," she said. "[But] 30 minutes of a carnivore moving connected it, you're astir apt going to perceive it, oregon a neighbour is going to perceive it and they're going to ... ideally travel out, scare the bear."

Anyone who wants much accusation connected carnivore information tin sojourn WildSafeBC. Kamloops residents tin petition a bear-resistant bin connected the city's website.