Staff
With black bears probably going to go into hibernation by the end of the month or so, reports of bruin activity have been picking up a little in Fort Frances.
Local bylaw enforcement/animal control officer Arlene Byrnes said this morning 28 nuisance bears have been reported since June, including a handful just last week.
“We’ve had a lot of bear calls,” she noted.
While earlier reports (June through September) were mainly from residents in the north end and east end, the more recent ones were from the far west end, such as the Elm Avenue area, Byrnes said.
She noted the town has all three live traps set out to catch errant bruins.
So far this year, one bear was live-trapped around Crowe Avenue on Sept. 6 and relocated while another one was immobilized back in late June.
With colder weather settling in, Byrnes said the bylaw enforcement department expects to get more bear reports from now until the end of the month as the animals seek to binge before their winter-long rest.
Still, numbers so far are lower last year. By the time bears started going into hibernation last October, the town had received a total of 40 reports.
Byrnes said the more recent reports have included sightings of bears munching on apples fallen from people’s trees, as well as some evidence of bears getting into people’s garbage.
To help curb these ursine temptations, Byrnes said those with apple trees can pick up the apples off the ground, instead of leaving them as a bear attractant, and well as put their garbage out on the morning of garbage day—not the night before or earlier.
Other measures that can be taken to help prevent bears from staying in the area include:
•not leaving pet food outdoors;
•thoroughly cleaning outdoor grills after use;
•discontinuing to fill bird feeders for the time being;
•not putting meat, fish, or sweet food (including fruit) in your composter;
•not composting with open containers;
•keeping meat scraps in the freezer until garbage day;
•cleaning up any garbage in your yard;
•ensuring dumpster lids are closed; and
•leaving the bears alone (remember, they’re wild and highly unpredictable).
Residents are asked to report bear sightings by calling the Ministry of Natural Resources’ “BearWise” hotline at 1-866-514-2327.
If the matter is urgent and there is any potential danger, residents are directed to call the OPP’s communications centre at 1-888-310-1122, not the local detachment or the town.
After a report is made, a bylaw officer and/or police may attend the scene, depending on the circumstances.
Authorities then either will continue to receive and monitor the reports of the nuisance bear, deploy a live trap, immobilize and remove the bear, or destroy it if necessary.
