Bear Awareness
October 1, 2009
Thank you for visiting our bear awareness page.
You are probably wondering why there is a bear awareness page on a mortgage brokers web page. Good question. It is simple. We love nature and have learned many things about bears and would like to share them with you. We believe that every little thing we do to help educate everyone about bears will save another bear from being a garbage bear!
We believe in education about bears. As long time residents in Port Moody, BC living next to the Bert Flynn Park and living in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory we have come to appreciate living in beautiful areas co-habitated by wild life including bears. At VERICO ZANDERS & Associates Mortgage Brokers Inc. we would like to do a small part in further educating people about the truly magnificence of bears.
Our main message is:
"Do not put your garbage out until pickup time in the morning. No matter how you package it, a bear's nose is a million times stronger that ours. Think about it, they can smell fish up to 3 miles away. What makes you think that your recycle doesn't smell just because you rinsed it. Bear cubs learn from their mothers. Don't let them learn that garbage is easy food. It only leads to problems.
Our forest has provided for these beautiful animals for the longest time. Lets live in harmony and do our part. Everyone's part counts! Thank you very much from all of us at VERICO ZANDERS & Associates Mortgage Brokers Inc."
If you have bear pictures or information or comments you would like to share, please email us, we would be pleased to post them on our web.
WHAT CAN YOU DO
Email and phone your city hall mayor and city councilors and request them to draft and enact bylaws that prohibit putting your garbage out the night before and have restrictions as to the time your garbage and recycle bins can be out. Request them to make it law to store your garbage and recycle bins in the garage and have fines for those that do not comply. Currently Port Moody and Port Coquitlam have bylaws that have time restrictions as to when you can put you garbage & recycle on the curb for pickup.
Some really easy positive things to do would be:
1. Do not put your garbage or recycle out until the garbage pickup time in the morning.
2. Remove the bins as soon as you can.
3. Store them inside to lessen the smell outside. :)
4. Tell your neighbors and ask them to support the Bear Aware program.
The above picture is provided by Russ Sawdon, who commented "This picture was taken
at Minnekhada Park in Port Coquitlam, BC on July 21, 2009."
Check out our Lastest News and Articles - Bear Awareness section for up to date news articles! The articles are posted at the bottom of the page, scroll down to Bear Aware. If you have any comments, please contact us.
Many thanks to John Friesen and Dean Foisy for their comments and picture :)
"On October 12, 2007 while conducting a post harvest inspection near Strutell Creek (south-west of Keefer Lake), east of Vernon and Cherryville, BC. I first spotted this grizzly bear in a plantation; she was about 20 meters from us. After realizing this mother had a cub, we briskly headed to our truck which was parked about 200 meters from where we first noticed her. We
realized she was headed towards our parked truck so we waited for her. To our surprise and for our enjoyment she appeared on the road with three cubs. The photos were taken by Dean Foisy. Please enjoy this majestic animal and notice the silver tipped hair. This animal can be aggressive and deserves great respect so I don't suggest getting this close if you encounter one."
John Friesen, R.P.F.
Regional District of North Okanagan
June 7, 2010
Be Bear Aware, Port Moody!
Posted on our Blog June 7, 2010
On May 14th I was taking a lunch break on my back deck and suddenly there was a loud ruckus, people shouting and banging noises. Another visit from the local wildlife, a bear coming to feed on the contents of one of my neighbors’ garbage cans. This is not an isolated incident, so why can we not get it right?
I’m tired of these poor bears being shot to death because they are following their natural instincts. The Municipality of Port Moody claims to be a BEAR AWARE community, but in my opinion our bylaws and regulations are too slack to protect our children, our community, and what I think is important as well, our natural heritage, OUR BEARS.
In frustration and desire to do something, I wrote a letter to Richard Dal Monte, the editor of the Tri-City News that day, who kindly printed it (Article Link to follow). On May 18th there was another letter printed in the Tri-City News from the City Manager, Gaëtan Royer, (thank you!) who addressed the issue. In it he states, “As a community, we face a tough challenge. We know that we can’t change a bear’s natural behaviour so we are working hard to get people to change their behavior.” (click here to see his full response at The Tri-City News).
Gaëtan Royer states that “400 residents have received notices this year and his staff have issued tickets to residents who put their carts out the night before collection day.” Clearly, this message is not getting through to everyone, as I witnessed on May 14th. It takes only one person putting their garbage cans out too early that entices a bear, training it that food is easily available in our neighborhoods. The bear is punished for this careless human act. Out come the guns and the bear is killed.
On May 21 Lori Greyell took the City Manager to task with a response, expressing grief over the recent 3 bears killed in Port Moody. Click here to read her letter to the editor. It’s dialogue like Lori’s that should impassion the community to truly STEP UP for our bears. It’s a people problem, not problem bears.
I think it is time to change the bylaws and stiffen the penalties. What do you think? Surely, Lori and I are not the only residents concerned about this issue, so speak up! How can we all step up and change our community to become a 100% Bear Aware municipality? Everyone must participate – no exceptions, or there will be yet another bear shot because of Port Moody residents. I encourage dialogue and sharing ideas on what we can do now. Write me your thoughts and comments on how we can protect our bears.
For further information check out my Bear Awareness website page by at www.vericozanders.com by clicking here. I’ve posted articles, tips, photographs and resource links. Thanks again to Richard Dal Monte, Editor of The Tri-City News for assistance with the research articles for this blog (www.tricitynews.com).
June 3, 2010
See a copy of my letter to the editor of the Tri-City News. TCNEWS050710_A12.pdf We are still experiencing problems with people putting their garbage out early and attracting bears into our neighborhoods. This usually results in the bear paying the penalty of death for our carelessness. Awareness must be increase to make our community 100% Bear Aware - see my blog entry by clicking here, for more. (Thank you to Richard Del Monte of the Tri-City news for providing us with the pdf. For the full page of the www.tricitynews.com click here).
Port Moody residents are advised to be "bear smart" as some bears are not hibernating this winter…
Click here for City of Port Moody notice.
REALLY GREAT SOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BEARS!
Port Moody Bear Aware Program and Information
Local City of Port Moody information on bears.
Ben Kilham
Lots of awesome photos on bears. This is one of our favorite sites. Ben Kilham has some amazing pictures and information on bears.
North Shore Black Bear Network
Living in harmony with bears and promoting the co-existence by education. Lots of great information and pictures on this site.
Bear Matters
Bear Matters home page postings for current information on British Columbia's bears and lots of pictures.
Sierra Club BC Great Bear Rainforest
Sierra Club BC - Great Bear Rainforest - here in British Columbia, home of the rare white Kermode Bear - "Spirit Bear". Yes they are very rare! There is lots of very good information as well as pictures on this site.
Bear Aware BC
British Columbia's web site for Bear Aware information and Smart Bear info.
Real pictures of a smart bear getting his dinner from the birdfeeder!
You will get a chuckle out of this short picture show. It does however show you how clever and smart bears can be!
INTERESTING BEAR FACTS
Black bears are known to live in Port Moody, BC area.
Black bears are described as shy, gentle, usually solitary animals that are very rarely known to be aggressive. Bears most often attempt to avoid humans. When more than one bear is seen together it will usually be a family unit (sow with cubs or yearlings) during the summer breeding season.
Typically, bears fear and avoid people, but can be attracted to homes if they find food sources like garbage, pet food, crops, and bird feed. Each year property damage reports are received as a result of foods such as pet food, garbage, fruits, bird seed or feeders and other food attractants being stored in screened-in porches, small out-buildings, truck canopies etc.
Although bears have poor eyesight (they are nearsighted – see poorly at longer distances), they have extremely good senses of smell and hearing.
Black bears are very strong and very fast. They can climb a tree at six weeks old. They can outrun humans with their ability to run 40 miles per hour. They are also good swimmers.
Their claws are not retractable like a cat, and they use them for climbing, digging for insects or small mammals, turning over large rocks, getting insect larvae from inside rotten logs and for manipulating food.
Bears are omnivorous, meaning they eat plants and animals, although they are classified as carnivores (meat eaters). They eat insects, leaves, berries, nuts, fruit, or on occasion juvenile mammals such as fawns, or small mammals. Most (80+%) of their diet is vegetation or insects.
Adult female black bears breed every other year and give birth from early January to early February while in the den.
Female black bears give birth to 1 to 4 cubs, each weighing 6 to 12 ounces while the sow is in their winter bear den. The cubs are blind at birth, yet they have exceptionally well developed claws so they can climb around the den and on the sow to find the source of milk. Bear milk is very rich in fat and other nutritional substances. Cubs gain weight very fast and may grow 10 times their birth weight before leaving the den in April.
Feeding cubs often make a unique “purring-type” sound when nursing that can often be heard when approaching a bear den.
The cubs and yearlings stay with their mother until they are about 1½ years old and are ready to be on their own. By the time they reach one year old, the yearling bears may weigh 60 pounds or more.
Black bears usually reach full maturity by age three and one-half years, although sows may breed earlier.
Fully grown female bears (sows) usually weigh 125 to 250 (rarely over 300) pounds and are about 5 feet in length. Male bears (boars) are most often larger and usually weigh 200 to 400 pounds, occasionally exceeding 600 pounds.
Bears are probably most active at dawn or dusk (crepuscular), but can be active at any time, night or day, particularly when food is abundant. Bears have been known to forage for food as much as 20 hours in a day.
In the wild, black bears have been known to live to be 26 years old.
Black bears have no predators except humans.
Black bears spend a lot of time searching for food and eating. As they prepare to hibernate during the winter, bears may consume 10,000 to 12,000 calories a day. An adult male bear can gain more than 100 pounds during the fall, prior to denning, when large amounts of food such as acorns are available.
While hibernating in the den, black bears do not eat, drink, defecate or urinate.
Black bears usually den in hollow trees, although some will den up in depressions in the ground, in brush piles, under upturned trees, in rock cavities and under rock overhangs.
Black bears are adaptable. Although black bears like remote, densely wooded habitats and swampy areas, they commonly frequent areas where timber has been cut for the berries and other foods that can be found there or for den sites.
