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All Whistler Articles
With black bears, there's no innuendo.
There's no double entendre or silent treatment, no mixed signals, false accusations or reading between the lines. Bears wear no "social mask," they never worry about manners and they never lie.
When a bear wants to communicate, he sends a direct message. With his stance and facial expression, a few grunts, huffs and teeth-clacks, even a charge, he says something very specific. Whether ordering cubs up a tree for safety, inviting another bear to play or warning hikers they've come too close and telling them to back off, bears' signals are loud and clear.
I stand 44 metres from a busy blue run on a warm spring day. Skiers and riders dot the high elevation taking advantage of the 300-cm powder packed slope.
Kicking off my skis to anthropogenic chatter, in an otherwise wilderness solitude is an odd feeling. Because what I am about to do, is delve into one of the most secretive realms in nature before an audience oblivious to the fact.
Recently, the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP) team skyped Get Bear Smart to learn more about creating bear smart communities in Washington. I'm sure many of you have the same questions, so I thought I'd provide a summary of the conversation.
WHISTLER, British Columbia - The late-night scratching at the door of my condo would not have been so alarming had I not known that this resort apparently was as appealing to bears as European vacationers. And, if what I'd read about the black bears was to be believed, this was no ordinary breed. These critters reportedly were capable of everything short of deciphering the NBA's salary cap. "Many of Whistler's bears have learned to do things like open car doors or hold spring-closed gates open," read one of the condo's brochures
I can no longer contain myself. With the latest notice from the Muni in last week's paper (Greetings Olympic Guests) I wonder if we will ever get a handle on the disconnect between disposing of our garbage and our desire to get everyone using public transit? The notice from the Muni lets visitors know that all household garbage must be disposed of at the Nesters site. But how do you get it there? It is not permitted on WAVE transit and most of these visitors have no vehicles.
When one of my sons asked a member of our current council how he could get rid of his garbage without having transport he was advised to hide it in a knapsack and take it on board the bus.
4,437 students and teachers in the corridor received a free pin this week.
Tom Thomson's idea to develop commemorative Whistler pins for the Olympics came to fruition Thursday as thousands of pins were distributed to students and teachers throughout the Sea to Sky corridor.
On Jan. 21 every child in the school district between D'arcy and Squamish received a free nickel-sized silver pin featuring a black bear, a red maple leaf and the word "Whistler" in blue capital letters.
Thomson called the pins the "Cubby," in honour of the Loonie and the Toonie coins. And he hopes during the Olympics the pins will become their own kind of currency as collectors from around the world vie for them.
GBS is very excited about the release of our new book. Sales look awesome. We are distributing the book locally ourselves. Virtually all suitable Whistler retail outlets are stocked up.
Whistler's favourite resident black bear may have gone into hibernation, or she may have met with some other fate.
The Get Bear Smart Society hasn't seen a trace of Jeanie since her tracking collar went offline in late October.
The bear, who's been called "the icon for Whistler," was fitted with a GPS radio collar that same month in order to monitor her movements. However a day after getting her collar her signal disappeared.
It takes a while to be considered a "local" in Whistler, but there's a select set of long-time residents who can safely claim that title without any qualms - Whistler's beloved black bears. The many black bears who live in the valley are a big part of the day-to-day lives of year-round residents, seasonal workers and tourists, who all feel a little chill of surprise run up their spines when they spy one of the ubiquitous ursine lumbering down the Valley Trail or searching for berries in the bushes.
A book by two local authors that seeks to dispel myths and misinformation about bears while feeding people's fascination with the ursine world has hit the shelves of local bookstores just in time for Christmas.
A Whistler Bear Story, written by Whistlerite Sylvia Dolson and Pemberton resident Katherine Fawcett, and featuring Dolson's full-colour photographs of Whistler bears, aims to "promote a deeper understanding of bears, one that transcends fears and misinformation" often passed along in exaggerated campfire stories and elsewhere, Dolson said.
Sylvia Dolson, an unabashed bear lover, likes to talk about statistics that don't relate to annual bear deaths in Whistler. She's got plenty of reasons to smile this year, because the only significant numbers relating to the 2009 bear season are all positive if you're a bear lover.
To wit:
* The number of calls to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service's human-bear conflict line was around 400, about half of what it was last year, and Conservation Officer Chris Doyle recently said he'd confident that the drop is an accurate reflection of the amount of activity taking place, not an indication that people were hesitant to call, as has been the case with some in the past;
Bears are a part of the fabric of Whistler life and lore - to longtime locals, they're almost like stray dogs or squirrels. Admit it: we all love to tell tales of the majestic creatures we share this valley with (especially with anxious tourists).
But their comfort level with humans can have tragic results, and just because we're used to having these animals around doesn't mean we shouldn't have a healthy respect for the creatures. In fact, one local bear advocate believes we need to work at living in harmony with the black bears. So, she decided to publish a book on the topic.
An unbeatable combination of incredible photography and thought-provoking writing makes A Whistler Bear Story a rare and magical journey into a world few people know.
In British Columbia, for instance, there were fewer than 8,000 complaints in 1992 and nearly 12,000 in 1998. The reason is simple. More and more people are living, working and holidaying in bear habitat, increasing the likelihood, and often the severity, of human-bear encounters. Black bears are becoming increasingly comfortable cruising our backyards and alleyways, our landfills and golf courses, in search of easy high-calorie meals, especially in the fall.
While most of Whistler's bears are hibernating on the mountains there are a few still looking for food in the valley.
On Nov. 20 a bear entered the front door of a home on Cedar Grove Lane.
Analyzing the influence of habitat, reproductive class and season on the location of black bear conflict sites in Whistler, B.C.
Get Bear Smart partnered with the Habitat Improvement Team (HIT) to plant another 100 mountain ash trees (sorbus sitchensis) on Whistler Mountain. This brings the total number of mountain ash planted on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains in the past two years to over 350.
As a bear researcher and registered professional biologist I was surprised to see the letter to Whistler’s Mayor and Council as published in the Whistler Question on Oct. 8, “Biodiversity concerns raised.” In my professional opinion the concerns presented in the article are unfounded in science.
A sudden increase in bear activity in and around Whistler Village is prompting conservation officers to remind the public to be diligent about managing garbage and picking fruit off of trees near built-up areas where possible.
As biologists, we would like clarify some of the comments by some landscapers and consultants regarding the "potential threat to biodiversity" from removing bear-attracting species from developments.
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