Concern grows over bears
At least 15 incidents reported in Georgina this spring
Bears afoot in Georgina are leaving many residents pregnant with paws for thought.
At least 15 bear sightings in Keswick and Sutton have been reported since May 8, which has altered the way many residents are going about their everyday lives and wondering what, if anything, is being done.
While most people have the same soft spot for bears that Winnie the Pooh has for honey, there are concerns about what to do if roaming bears do more than forage for food and threaten human safety.
Const. Rebecca Boyd of York Regional Police media relations said yesterday police would “respond right away” in an emergency situation and are prepared to do “what is necessary” using the resources at hand to contain the problem.
Shooting a threatening bear would depend on the circumstances of the encounter, the perceived threat to human life and is considered a last resort.
“No one would be in a hurry or rush to do something that may cause unnecessary injury to either the bear or people,” she said, adding that no incidences with bears other than sightings have been reported to police to date.
She advised local residents as well as any visitors to parks or woodland areas to be educated and aware of what to do in the event of an encounter with a bear, especially in rural areas where the likelihood of encounters is increased.
While members of the Bear Wise Program with the Ministry of Natural Resources are trained in trap and transfer and removal procedures, the ministry would have to be called in first by police.
But John Almond, an area supervisor with the Natural Resources Ministry office in Aurora, says bears are generally timid animals that are rarely a public safety threat. The only reason bears would be hanging around would be for food.
He recommends people remove all food attractants including birdfeeders, pet food and open blue boxes, to prevent bears foraging on your property, which he thinks people are doing since the last reported sighting was this past Saturday, Mr. Almond said.
In 90 per cent of cases, it is because there is a food source, he added. While there is no way to tell if the sightings represent different bears, he suggested the majority of sightings are likely of the same one.
But residents like David and Carolina Weir of Pefferlaw are, for the moment, keeping their four daughters and two dogs close to home, away from woodland areas and behind the fence after they spotted a medium-sized black bear in their back yard while having dinner.
“Like my daughters, I thought he was cute, too, but only from the inside,” said Mrs. Weir, adding that neither she nor her husband, who has lived in Pefferlaw in the same house on Pefferlaw Road for 52 years, has ever seen a bear before.
After roughing up the Weir’s blue boxes at the side of the house, the hungry bruin took some empty cans of ham for a picnic of sorts on the front lawn.
Apparently, the bear didn’t want to share, since he headed off in a south-easterly direction toward the river after several motorists stopped their cars to take a look.
Other recent sightings were reported in the adjacent subdivision, which is bordered by a forested area between Pefferlaw Road and Durham Road 23, as well as in the Park Road and Hwy. 48 area in Sutton.
Most report a medium-sized omnivore, but reports from late last week suggest at least one bear cub out on the loose.
While the recent sightings are higher than usual from the Georgina area, which is home to a population of black bears in the hundreds compared to hot spots like Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie and Parry Sound with numbers in the thousands, officials from the MNR said that they are a usual occurrence at this time of year when bears are looking for food sources.
They advise residents to be cautious, but not panic.
Roaming bears may be expected in rural areas with large tracts of forest and woodland, but residents were surprised to see a black bear on Dalton Road wandering precariously close to local schools and businesses in Sutton last Wednesday.
Sutton resident Kayla Pollock describes being dumbfounded after driving past the bear in the middle of Dalton Road at about 7 p.m.
“I am a wildlife expert and work with bears, but I still had no idea what to do,” she said, adding that she Googled ‘what to do if you see a bear’ once the initial shock wore off.
“I certainly don’t want to see a bear killed, but this was a dangerous situation,” she added, referring to the crowd of 15 people, which was getting out of its cars to take a closer look.
“People were honking at it and while it didn’t look afraid, it did stand up on its hind legs before disappearing behind the Hasty Mart,” she added.
Driven perhaps from their natural foraging habitat due to large-scale construction projects such as the Sutton subdivision development and ROC construction on Civic Centre Road, the bears reveal no fear of humans and seem quite comfortable foraging through commercial and residential neighbourhoods.
But while the idea of a bear sidling up to the Tim Hortons for a blueberry smoothie may be funny, the threat it poses to human safety is no laughing matter.
Ms Pollock doesn’t want residents “wasting their time” with calls to wildlife agencies such as the OSPCA or Georgina Animal Control since bear calls don’t fall under their jurisdiction.
“People should know to contact police, especially if the bear is in such close proximity and posing a threat,” she added.
Black River Public School was alerted to the bear’s presence Thursday morning after one of its school bus drivers saw a bear wandering the sidewalk on Dalton Road close to Black River Road.
While no student or staff member reported seeing the bear, Principal Tim Gervais said students were informed of the sighting during the morning announcements and advised to be on the lookout.
“At this time of year, wildlife tends to roam in search of food and it is our responsibility to respect it,” said Mr. Gervais. “Everyone at the school has been informed and keeping the children safe and secure is our main priority.”
The neighbouring pool, day-care centre and St. Bernadette’s Catholic school were also notified, as well as the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Students seemed to take the news in stride and were advised to talk to their parents. They were also instructed not to approach a bear, stick to a buddy system and to stay on well travelled routes when walking to and from school.
Mr. Gervais added no one was in imminent danger and response from the school has been one of vigilant caution.
Only one parent called Mr. Gervais with concerns after her daughter, who is in Grade 1, came home from school saying she was “terrified the bear was going to eat her”.
For young children, the Berenstain Bears are awfully cute in a book; a roaming black bear in your neighbourhood, not so much.
“We don’t want the children scared, but we felt due diligence was necessary to make the students aware of the situation and encouraged conversations at home to help alleviate fears,” said Mr. Gervais.
------------------------------------------------
1, This is only going to happen more often, as long as the spring Bear hunt is banned.
2, As Bears volley, vie for territory, more and more agitated Bears will be displaced. Taking up residence in or close to densely populated residential areas.
3, Stop texting me, it is me!!!
At least 15 incidents reported in Georgina this spring
Bears afoot in Georgina are leaving many residents pregnant with paws for thought.
At least 15 bear sightings in Keswick and Sutton have been reported since May 8, which has altered the way many residents are going about their everyday lives and wondering what, if anything, is being done.
While most people have the same soft spot for bears that Winnie the Pooh has for honey, there are concerns about what to do if roaming bears do more than forage for food and threaten human safety.
Const. Rebecca Boyd of York Regional Police media relations said yesterday police would “respond right away” in an emergency situation and are prepared to do “what is necessary” using the resources at hand to contain the problem.
Shooting a threatening bear would depend on the circumstances of the encounter, the perceived threat to human life and is considered a last resort.
“No one would be in a hurry or rush to do something that may cause unnecessary injury to either the bear or people,” she said, adding that no incidences with bears other than sightings have been reported to police to date.
She advised local residents as well as any visitors to parks or woodland areas to be educated and aware of what to do in the event of an encounter with a bear, especially in rural areas where the likelihood of encounters is increased.
While members of the Bear Wise Program with the Ministry of Natural Resources are trained in trap and transfer and removal procedures, the ministry would have to be called in first by police.
But John Almond, an area supervisor with the Natural Resources Ministry office in Aurora, says bears are generally timid animals that are rarely a public safety threat. The only reason bears would be hanging around would be for food.
He recommends people remove all food attractants including birdfeeders, pet food and open blue boxes, to prevent bears foraging on your property, which he thinks people are doing since the last reported sighting was this past Saturday, Mr. Almond said.
In 90 per cent of cases, it is because there is a food source, he added. While there is no way to tell if the sightings represent different bears, he suggested the majority of sightings are likely of the same one.
But residents like David and Carolina Weir of Pefferlaw are, for the moment, keeping their four daughters and two dogs close to home, away from woodland areas and behind the fence after they spotted a medium-sized black bear in their back yard while having dinner.
“Like my daughters, I thought he was cute, too, but only from the inside,” said Mrs. Weir, adding that neither she nor her husband, who has lived in Pefferlaw in the same house on Pefferlaw Road for 52 years, has ever seen a bear before.
After roughing up the Weir’s blue boxes at the side of the house, the hungry bruin took some empty cans of ham for a picnic of sorts on the front lawn.
Apparently, the bear didn’t want to share, since he headed off in a south-easterly direction toward the river after several motorists stopped their cars to take a look.
Other recent sightings were reported in the adjacent subdivision, which is bordered by a forested area between Pefferlaw Road and Durham Road 23, as well as in the Park Road and Hwy. 48 area in Sutton.
Most report a medium-sized omnivore, but reports from late last week suggest at least one bear cub out on the loose.
While the recent sightings are higher than usual from the Georgina area, which is home to a population of black bears in the hundreds compared to hot spots like Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie and Parry Sound with numbers in the thousands, officials from the MNR said that they are a usual occurrence at this time of year when bears are looking for food sources.
They advise residents to be cautious, but not panic.
Roaming bears may be expected in rural areas with large tracts of forest and woodland, but residents were surprised to see a black bear on Dalton Road wandering precariously close to local schools and businesses in Sutton last Wednesday.
Sutton resident Kayla Pollock describes being dumbfounded after driving past the bear in the middle of Dalton Road at about 7 p.m.
“I am a wildlife expert and work with bears, but I still had no idea what to do,” she said, adding that she Googled ‘what to do if you see a bear’ once the initial shock wore off.
“I certainly don’t want to see a bear killed, but this was a dangerous situation,” she added, referring to the crowd of 15 people, which was getting out of its cars to take a closer look.
“People were honking at it and while it didn’t look afraid, it did stand up on its hind legs before disappearing behind the Hasty Mart,” she added.
Driven perhaps from their natural foraging habitat due to large-scale construction projects such as the Sutton subdivision development and ROC construction on Civic Centre Road, the bears reveal no fear of humans and seem quite comfortable foraging through commercial and residential neighbourhoods.
But while the idea of a bear sidling up to the Tim Hortons for a blueberry smoothie may be funny, the threat it poses to human safety is no laughing matter.
Ms Pollock doesn’t want residents “wasting their time” with calls to wildlife agencies such as the OSPCA or Georgina Animal Control since bear calls don’t fall under their jurisdiction.
“People should know to contact police, especially if the bear is in such close proximity and posing a threat,” she added.
Black River Public School was alerted to the bear’s presence Thursday morning after one of its school bus drivers saw a bear wandering the sidewalk on Dalton Road close to Black River Road.
While no student or staff member reported seeing the bear, Principal Tim Gervais said students were informed of the sighting during the morning announcements and advised to be on the lookout.
“At this time of year, wildlife tends to roam in search of food and it is our responsibility to respect it,” said Mr. Gervais. “Everyone at the school has been informed and keeping the children safe and secure is our main priority.”
The neighbouring pool, day-care centre and St. Bernadette’s Catholic school were also notified, as well as the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Students seemed to take the news in stride and were advised to talk to their parents. They were also instructed not to approach a bear, stick to a buddy system and to stay on well travelled routes when walking to and from school.
Mr. Gervais added no one was in imminent danger and response from the school has been one of vigilant caution.
Only one parent called Mr. Gervais with concerns after her daughter, who is in Grade 1, came home from school saying she was “terrified the bear was going to eat her”.
For young children, the Berenstain Bears are awfully cute in a book; a roaming black bear in your neighbourhood, not so much.
“We don’t want the children scared, but we felt due diligence was necessary to make the students aware of the situation and encouraged conversations at home to help alleviate fears,” said Mr. Gervais.
------------------------------------------------
1, This is only going to happen more often, as long as the spring Bear hunt is banned.
2, As Bears volley, vie for territory, more and more agitated Bears will be displaced. Taking up residence in or close to densely populated residential areas.
3, Stop texting me, it is me!!!
