'Quit babysitting them': Sask. hunter says people need to leave bears alone after mother bear, cubs put down
A bear and her two cubs were put down recently in the Candle Lake area.
“Officers always try to do everything they can first, trapping, hazing to have the situation not happen so I wouldn’t say it’s common, but unfortunately once bears become food habituated, there isn’t another choice because they will keep associating that food with people,” said Matthew Tokaruk, a black bear biologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.
Bears generally stay with their mother for about two years, then they are off on their own. It’s usually the newly independent teenager bears that cause issues, Tokaruk said.
The ministry says it isn’t seeing an increase in the number of bears – but Ron Bodnarchuk, who has had a cabin in Candle Lake for 17 years, begs to differ.
Bodnarchuk, who hunts bears, said the lack of American hunters combined with more people out at the lakes is contributing to an increase in the number of bears in certain areas. Local residents have also been posting several photos of bears to social media.
He’s seeing more bears wandering around compared to other years and says it’s a problem for the residents and also the bears.
“Of all the years I’ve hunted, this spring I was probably within 20 yards of over 100 bears and of those bears, 30 were all different bears,” Bodnarchuk told CTV News.
Bodnarchuk says in his experience with bears over about 45 years, mother bears pose a challenge to trap and relocate because getting the entire family into a trap is hard.
The problem stems from people not taking the correct approach to deter bears from frequenting the area, he said.
“They have to quit feeding them, quit babysitting them and make it uncomfortable for the bears to be there.”
He says another mother bear and cubs are in the area now and he hopes they won’t suffer the same fate.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.
DEVELOPING Israel says Hamas deal is 'far' from meeting its demands as Rafah offensive looms
Israel said the terms of a ceasefire deal Hamas accepted on Monday remained 'far from' meeting its demands and warned its military operations in Rafah would continue, even as it sent negotiators to talk to mediators.
2024 Met Gala: Everything to know about fashion's annual soiree
Fashion's biggest night out — hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York each year on the first Monday of May — is both a forever-evolving spectacle and a carefully crafted event.