Warm weather leads to bear activity in the Lower Mainland, Sea to Sky corridor
Posted February 16, 2015 10:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH SHORE (NEWS1130) – The unusually mild weather has brought out the crocuses and cherry blossoms on the South Coast — and it’s also brought out bears who should still be sleeping.
Meg Toom with WildSafeBC says there’s been bear activity around Squamish, the North Shore, and Coquitlam over the last month.
“Although typically people think it’s winter time [and the] bears should be hibernating, we do have bears that are out and about, looking for food sources right now,” she tells us.
She says this is a good reminder to keep your garbage locked up all year round.
“Bears will hibernate because their natural food sources are gone. There are no more berries, the grass is covered by snow. But if there are food sources — such as garbage, pet food left outside, or bird feeders — that’s going to provide them with calories over the winter. So, why hibernate?”
Toom says one way to remember is to think about what happens to bears that become reliant on garbage or other human food — most of those animals end up being destroyed.
