'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
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Wildfires are dampening against cool, rainy weather, but there's plenty left to contain
An opportune system of cool, wet weather Friday is dampening the spread of wildfires across Western Canada, but there's still plenty of work for responders and residents alike.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Dabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in '9 to 5' and the nasty TV director in 'Tootsie,' has died. He was 92.
Information commissioner faces $700K funding shortfall, says system is 'overwhelmed'
Canada's information commissioner says her office is facing a $700,000 funding shortfall that could impact its ability to investigate complaints about government transparency and accountability.
Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker's commencement speech has reached a new level
The NFL is distancing itself from controversial comments by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address.
Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.