If you go out in the woods today you may not find too many bears. They've all gone to town.
With a delay in the growth of the bears' natural food source — berries — and no spring hunt to offset their growing numbers, residents of Northern Ontario say they've seen a noticeable increase in bear-human encounters this summer. They're saying it's a problem, but the Ministry of Natural Resources says it's just the way it is when you live in bear country.
To offset the spring hunts that were cancelled in 1999, the ministry added four weeks to the fall hunt as of 2004. Despite efforts to manage bear numbers, John Kaplanis, the executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance, believes the bear population is still on the rise, meaning increased competition for food.
"The land here has a carrying capacity. Here in the North it hinges on berry activity," Mr. Kaplanis said. This year's berry season was particularly short because of the weather.
However, Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield said that residents in Northern Ontario just need to learn how to live with the animals.
The Bear Wise program was created in 2003 by the ministry to help communities better manage bear attractants around their homes. It also serves as a telephone information and bear-reporting hotline. Discouraging the use of bird feeders, storing barbecues properly and using Bear Wise garbage cans for waste all are ways to keep the bears out of neighbourhoods.
"We have spent big money on Bear Wise," said Ms. Cansfield, who disregards Mr. Kaplanis's belief that Bear Wise is nothing more than an expensive phone line.
"[Ontario Premier Dalton] McGuinty would like nothing more than for this issue to be swept under the northern carpet," said Mr. Kaplanis, adding that people in Southern Ontario need an education on what's happening in the North.
We look at what other jurisdictions are doing to manage the bears, Ms. Cansfield said. "If people have good ideas, we'll look at them."
Lynn Rogers knows bear management is not as simple as what you find in a brochure. A director for the North American Bear Centre, he has been studying black bears for 42 years. "They quickly learn that people don't bite and that people are where the food is."
For some, it would be the joy of their day to see a bear, Mr. Rogers said. However, citizens in Schreiber, Ont., are less than happy to see a bear in town.
"I'm always getting comments on the Bear Wise program not being very receptive to callers and taking too long to respond," said Schreiber Mayor Madge Richardson. The township has started to monitor the number of calls they get about bears because people get tired of calling Bear Wise, she said.
Bear Wise in the Thunder Bay district had 292 reported occurrences at this time in 2008. The number has increased significantly, with 570 occurrences reported so far this year. The instances reported in the Nipigon district, which includes Schreiber, are only slightly higher this year than last.
"Bear-human encounters have been going up and it's an ongoing concern. We have spoken to the ministry a number of times and tried to convince them to resurrect the spring hunt," Ms. Richardson said. The issue isn't going to go away until the ministry co-operates with municipalities, she said.
Under the watch of Ms. Cansfield, the spring hunt will not be reinstated. The issue is that there is a natural delay in the development of food available to the bears this year, Ms. Cansfield said.
"They follow their stomachs."
