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Three bears, no Goldilocks: Three reports to MNRF means bear season is starting

MNRF urges residents to be Bear Wise before bruins emerge
bears
It's still a bit early for the majority of bears to be emerging from their dens, but that isn't to say there haven't been sightings, said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

It's still a bit early for the majority of bears to be emerging from their dens, but that isn't to say there haven't been sightings, said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski said the MNRF has received three calls about bears in the Greater Sudbury area, about the same number in the same time frame last year. However, with the substantial rainfall and warmer weather forecast for this area, it could stir some bears out of their dens if they get washed out.

“I don't see that meaning a large resurgence of bears, though,” she said. “They usually return to their den once it dries out, if it does flood.”

Snow is still on the ground in central and northern Ontario, so that keeps most of the bears in their dens, Kowalski said. 

Typical foods for bears at this time of year is the fresh grass that grows after the snow leaves. They live off that and stored fat until berries are available, where bears get most of their summer energy.

Just because it's still too early for bears to emerge, that doesn't mean residents of Greater Sudbury can't start being bear wise, said Kowalski.

“What we are urging people to do is to start taking down their bird feeders once the snow is off the ground,  because that will really attract bears,” she said. “Any kind of attractant, get a handle on it now.” 

Bears usually avoid humans, but they are attracted into urban and rural areas in order to get food, said the MNRF on its Bear Wise website. 

If bears learn they can find food where people live, they will return again and again and even try to enter buildings. Relocation and destruction are poor ways of trying to prevent conflicts with bears.

For more information on how to be bear wise, visit www.ontario.ca.


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Arron Pickard

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