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Blog Posts
Dawn Johnson: The Get Bear Smart Society is busy working on projects aimed at increasing education, reducing human-bear conflict, strengthening stakeholder relations, and elevating public awareness about co-existing with bears.
Dawn Johnson: Dawn's Bear Story
Sylvia Dolson: Don’t underestimate the power of your story. And remember…. the public responds to individuals; they have trouble relating to populations. Even broad and generic terms are difficult to relate to. It’s better to promote your cause through the life and challenges of one bear, who has a name, a family, friends, alliances, rivals and things to do each day. Because bears are actually not that unlike us. Find the similarities and invite people to become a part of their lives.
Sylvia Dolson: Whether you're an educator, resident, scientist or wildlife officer, as someone who cares about bears, it's your job to spread the bear smart word - choosing your words carefully. Words are powerful. They can find their way deep into the very fabric of our being and belief systems, shaping our thoughts and actions. Words influence our perceptions and affect attitudes. They can inspire and encourage the right behaviour; or hinder and create apathy and inaction.
Sylvia Dolson: For the third consecutive year, The Fairmont Chateau Whistler has made a donation of $5,000 to the Society as part of the Chateau's Eco-Innovation Signature Project.
Barry Kent Mackay, Born Free Blog: In a recent blog (“Soft Landing Bears Witness to Improved Neighborhood Relations”) I reported about the black bear who, hungry as winter was starting to close in, wandered into the mountain town of Whistler, British Columbia, climbed a tree, and was subsequently tranquilized and removed. The cops had tried to just do what would have been better, and let the bear wander off on his own, but curious citizens interfered and finally a conservation officer had to tranquilize the bear. In the old days the poor thing would have been shot dead. But from Ottawa, a short time later, comes another story about a bear and people interaction with an even better ending. This black bear was getting ready for its winter sleep — it’s that time of year for our bears — and had wondered into the backyard of a homeowner in Fallowfield, near Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, in eastern Ontario. This bear did not climb a tree, but did have a snack of bird seed, and then curled up for a nap, right in the yard.
Barry Kent Mackay, www.bornfreeusa.org: ......And so it was that on Thursday, October 14, a black bear wandered into Whistler. Oops. It didn’t take the hungry bruin long to realize that this was probably not a good idea, and so he took what is, for a bear, appropriate action. He climbed a tree. There’s nothing like being up a tree to give a bear better time to mull things over, to plan, to stay out of trouble, and perhaps to await darkness when it is easier to move unnoticed by those bipedal creatures who always seem so excitable. Trouble was, the tree was located right in town, between the Marketplace and Whistler’s Health Care Centre. The bear was, in short, noticed......
Sylvia Dolson: An excerpt from a report about the effectiveness of the BC Bear Smart Community Program. It reveals some very important, and often overlooked issues. First of all, people have lost their connectedness to the ecosystem. They see themselves as "being above the ecosystem and not part of it." This disconnect between people and their natural environment and the wild animals they share it with has caused a general lack of empathy which has lead to an unwillingness to protect them. We must find ways to reconnect people to the animals we share the planet with, before we can expect them to do their part to save them.
Sylvia Dolson: Are you feeling devastated by the high number of bears getting killed, yet working with tireless determination to create a bear smart movement? Does it sometimes feel like an overwhelming task? A thankless job? Like you take one step forward and two backwards? Do you feel as though you may be developing compassion fatigue? Sometimes when compassion is a one-way street; you give all of your energy and compassion to helping a cause, and aren't able to get enough back to reassure yourself that the world is a hopeful place.
Dr. Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, www.bear.org: There's a need for officials to come up with a better definition of a bear 'attack.' Calling a single bite to a foot from a 60-pound yearling an attack, when the bite didn't require medical attention, seems a stretch. Lack of knowledge and fear of lawsuits drive decisions to 'play it safe' and kill bears that raise questions. Killing a bear is the easy way out.
Sylvia Dolson: 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.
Sylvia Dolson: So far we’ve raised over $1500. There are still some pins left, so get out there and support the bears!
Sylvia Dolson: Today Lily, the black bear, gave birth live, in real time, for thousands of dedicated fans to watch courtesy of a den cam. The cam is broadcasting live from her den near Ely in Northeastern Minnesota, USA, less than 30 miles from the Canadian border. Since her Facebook page was created on January 8th, she has accumulated over 50,000 devoted, enthusiastic fans. Even I can't stay away from the site. I have a window open on my computer screen so I can keep track whenever I'm at my desk. I have to admit it's been a bit addictive, but undeniably fascinating.
Anonymous: An amusing peom to lighten your day!
Sylvia Dolson: 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.
Sylvia Dolson: The Get Bear Smart Society is pleased to welcome Lori Homstol to the Get Bear Smart team. She will act as scientific advisor. Lori's specialty is bear behaviour and human-bear conflict.
Sylvia Dolson: 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.
Sarah McGinnis, Tilbury House Publishers: Bear-ly There is a brand new children's picture book from wildlife artist Rebekah Raye. In the story, a boy named Charlie spots a bear in his backyard -it's been causing all kinds of damage around town, getting into bird feeders and compost piles, even scaring Charlie's pet geese. One neighbor suggests shooting the bear, another wants to have it relocated. But Charlie knows what's best -the bear's not the problem, they are.
JAG: It's hunting season, and thousands of gun-wielding men and women are creeping stealthily through bear habitat looking for game. Bear spray could be the difference between a good story and a serious injury.
JAG: From Florida to northern British Columbia (and almost everywhere in between), bears and people are living cheek-to-jowl, leading to increasing levels of conflict. The problem is not bears, it's people, and the solution is securing our attractants so bears can't get at them.
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