Why no one in B.C. knows exactly how many black bears there are

Chad Pawson · CBC News

· Posted: May 21, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

They're communal subjects of quality stories astatine this clip of year, usually arsenic a effect of enactment with humans and municipality areas. But however communal is the achromatic carnivore successful B.C.? 

Wildlife advocates accidental the reply is acold from clear, and amended information is required to assistance and recognize the species, galore of whom are destroyed arsenic a effect of becoming habituated to quality food.

"I privation immoderate much unit connected the authorities to code this large cognition spread that we conscionable don't cognize however galore we have," said registered nonrecreational biologist Helen Davis with Artemis Wildlife Consultants.

"We don't cognize if we're hunting excessively many, if we're sidesplitting excessively galore done conflict."

Materials from the authorities from 2001 accidental determination are betwixt 120,000 and 160,000 achromatic bears crossed the province, and "although carnivore numbers alteration from twelvemonth to twelvemonth and habitats disposable to them are slowly shrinking owed to onshore development, the taxon is not presently rare, threatened, oregon endangered successful British Columbia."

Biologists similar Davis, who, on with First Nations, want carnivore dens successful old-growth forests protected with provincewide legislation, accidental determination could beryllium a misconception that a cardinal taxon with ecological and taste worth is plentiful erstwhile the information to enactment that is outdated oregon adjacent dubious.

"The estimation of 120,000 to 160,000 gets repeated implicit and implicit and implicit again successful the press," said Davis astir seemingly ubiquitous stories astir achromatic bears becoming nuisance bears owed to struggle with humans.

"And yet if you inquire the authorities wherever that fig comes from, they cannot nutrient immoderate benignant of information to backmost that up."

Davis and others, specified arsenic the Kwakiutl First Nation, privation B.C. to travel Ontario and Washington state's lead successful much modern surveys to much accurately estimation achromatic carnivore numbers to assistance negociate the taxon and the ecological transportation to the scenery they thrive in.

"The carnivore is portion of our root stories done immoderate families," said walas `Namugis, a hereditary main with the Kwakiutl First Nation whose English sanction is David Mungo Knox. 

"And wherefore it's truthful important to speech astir the carnivore and to speech astir the aged maturation due to the fact that without the bears, they wouldn't get the aged salmon carcasses to the aged parent histrion roots that are 1,000-year-old trees," helium added, referencing however salmon carcasses enactment arsenic fertilizer for trees successful forests.

Provincial statistic amusement hundreds destroyed each year, with much than 8,000 implicit a 14-year span. Black bears are besides harvested yearly during 2 hunting seasons, which, connected average, results successful 5,000 much bears killed each year.

Other unit connected the animals comes from having their dens successful trees destroyed by logging old-growth forests. The dens are lone presently protected connected Haida Gwaii and successful the Great Bear Rainforest, and by immoderate logging companies.

Provincial scientists say, portion a absorption successful the past has been connected grizzly bears, their numbers and a prohibition connected trophy hunting, work is taking spot to guarantee the wellness of achromatic carnivore populations.

Tony Hamilton was the province's ample carnivore idiosyncratic from 1982 until helium retired successful 2018. He worked connected the archetypal wide cited estimate of achromatic carnivore populations.

It was done done a comparative ranking of situation prime crossed B.C. and assigning estimates of achromatic carnivore densities per 100 oregon 1,000 quadrate kilometres, helium said.

Setting objectives for the animal

Hamilton besides said it's imaginable that the debased extremity of a achromatic carnivore colonisation successful B.C. could beryllium 80,000, but stresses an wide colonisation fig whitethorn not beryllium adjuvant for management.

"Frankly, I'm present of the caput that the pursuit of a azygous colonisation estimation for a azygous constituent successful clip successful B.C. is not thing that we should pursue," helium said. "Instead, I deliberation we should absorption connected mounting objectives for the animal."

It's thing his successor supports, with some saying the resources required to bash a massive, and costly colonisation survey crossed B.C's immense diverseness of ecosystems could beryllium amended spent connected managing known problems such arsenic orphaned bears, human-bear conflicts successful backyards and agriculture fields portion besides protecting carnivore bens and managing the achromatic carnivore hunt.

"It puts it backmost to the question of … tin we minimize the fig of killed conscionable due to the fact that it's a bully happening to bash and not person these animals killed successful conflict?" said Garth Mowat, B.C.'s existent ample carnivore specialist.

Mowat conducted a study, published successful 2021, successful an country of Central Vancouver Island that showed achromatic carnivore densities were 569 bears per 1,000 quadrate kilometres, "which is higher than galore achromatic carnivore densities along the westbound seashore of North America."

The survey besides said that mean hunting (harvesting) rates were "similar to different areas successful B.C., wrong the ranges of neighbouring jurisdictions, and generally wrong reported sustainable limits."

While advocates proceed to propulsion for amended information astir achromatic bears, each sides of the statement hold that residents successful B.C. should beryllium alert of achromatic bears and bash their portion to assistance debar destroying them implicit issues wrong our control.