Revelstoke not bear smart as more bears destroyed

This year is fast becoming one to rival our worst in the last decade for black bears destroyed in Revelstoke, with five more bears euthanized on Wednesday, August 17 and overnight.

Conservation officer Dan Bartol, who is based out of Golden, dealt with with a large workload and multiple bear reports while in town this week. He described Revelstoke as not bear-smart compared to other communities in the province and said the situation could be completely manageable.

“Every single bear I have to destroy is completely frustrating and I take no pleasure in it,” he said. “And it is an avoidable situation. We don’t need to kill these bears — once they’re habituated we have no choice — but we don’t need to have them habituated or food conditioned, there are alternatives.”

A photo of the bear believed to have been shot in downtown Revelstoke on Tuesday August 16. Photo: Arianna Sterritt

For Revelstoke, the action now is to make an effort to ensure garbage is not left outside, and for your fruit trees to be picked. Bartol said if a human can get into your garbage with a crowbar then a bear can get in.

“There is an absolutely common thread that bears are getting into primarily garbage and fruit trees,” he said.

“Now would be a very very good time, to use extra diligence — the problem is getting out of hand. We’re just reacting. I’m just chasing after problems rather than solving them.”

For example, Bartol said he attended to an incident on Tuesday evening where a bear had gotten into garbage on a resident’s deck. The homeowner chased the bear away and started to clean up the food and the bear charged at him.

“He was protecting what he saw was his food source,” Bartol explained.

Should Revelstoke have more bear-proof bins? Photo: Steve (CC 2.0)

Of the four bears that were destroyed on Wednesday, one was located in the Big Eddy and three were at the William’s Lake Campground area. One was also caught in a trap overnight

Four bears were also destroyed on Tuesday (updated from the previously reported three), with one a visible incident downtown. A bear was shot and killed on First Street, which ignited discussion in the Revelstoke community.

A petition has been created to call for a conservation officer to be based out of Revelstoke. The concept of bear-proof bins, which are costly to install and maintain, has also been raised.

A trial bear-bin project in Johnson Heights has been used as an example, where residents dispose of their garbage in a bear proof dumpster. There has been limited bear activity in that area and Bartol said it seems to have been effective.

“I think any community surrounded around wildlife should consider how garbage is managed,” Bartol said.

A record of bears in the Revelstoke area. Photo: Bear Aware

Bear activity in Revelstoke has significantly increased this year, compared to recent years.

In Revelstoke’s Bear Aware’s 2015 annual report, it shows three black bears were destroyed last year while 10 were destroyed in 2014 — the highest since 2011. The report noted garbage was the main culprit with fruit trees also an issue.

Already 2016 looks to surpass these statistics with nine black bears euthanized this week, and two earlier in the season.