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Sounds like the residents/town didn't do enough to dissuade bears. I've been to Jasper, Canada, which is in the Rockies surrounded by forest, and the counterme

by sidek 10y ago

Sounds like the residents/town didn't do enough to dissuade bears. I've been to Jasper, Canada, which is in the Rockies surrounded by forest, and the countermeasures they take to stop bears from coming to town are crazy. All garbage cans have special bear-proof lids, there is tons of education, etc. And it mostly works-- some bears come, but they don't perceive the town as a source of food.

cushychicken 10y ago
I wonder how helpful that would be. It sounds like the influx was due to a failure of their normal food sources; the bears sound like they were starving and desperate. Would they move on from the town if all the food sources were locked down? My experience growing up near bears in the western US was that they generally stayed far away from people whenever possible. The fact that they were in town at all is a sign of pretty dire straits for their food source.
- fsociety 10y ago
  I grew up in the Jasper area, and we'd have bear traps placed all around the town, in forests. The bears loved to head in to town for some easy pickings of food. Often they'd be tranquilized if they became a problem, and then moved to a new area. In my personal opinion, I'd say they weren't necessarily starved for food but they would continue heading back to town because they were handled very carefully when encountered with a human. If they were put in a situation of harm, they'd be killed instead of being harmlessly tranquilized. It was fairly common to wake up in the middle of the night with a bear going through your garbage. The town's are fairly small and in close proximity with the forest. I think it's less about food supply and more about constant exposure to humans, easy access, and living in close proximity. For the most part, the bears were fairly harmless too. Any aggressive bear would be immediately killed.
  - cushychicken 10y ago
    Interesting that there's no mention of the normal amount of bear activity there.

by sidek 10y ago

cushychicken 10y ago

I wonder how helpful that would be. It sounds like the influx was due to a failure of their normal food sources; the bears sound like they were starving and desperate. Would they move on from the town if all the food sources were locked down? My experience growing up near bears in the western US was that they generally stayed far away from people whenever possible. The fact that they were in town at all is a sign of pretty dire straits for their food source.

fsociety 10y ago
I grew up in the Jasper area, and we'd have bear traps placed all around the town, in forests. The bears loved to head in to town for some easy pickings of food. Often they'd be tranquilized if they became a problem, and then moved to a new area. In my personal opinion, I'd say they weren't necessarily starved for food but they would continue heading back to town because they were handled very carefully when encountered with a human. If they were put in a situation of harm, they'd be killed instead of being harmlessly tranquilized. It was fairly common to wake up in the middle of the night with a bear going through your garbage. The town's are fairly small and in close proximity with the forest. I think it's less about food supply and more about constant exposure to humans, easy access, and living in close proximity. For the most part, the bears were fairly harmless too. Any aggressive bear would be immediately killed.
- cushychicken 10y ago
  Interesting that there's no mention of the normal amount of bear activity there.