Thank you for the garbage buffet. Signed, Black Bears

There has been a lot of chatter lately that the answer to these recent human-bear conflicts is the reintroduction of the spring hunt.

I, personally, don’t think that is the solution.

For me, I think the biggest issue is the prevalence of attractants such as garbage. At dusk and into the early evening, I can’t help but notice how many Sudburians already have their trash curbside in advance of collection day.

Plenty of people also do not even bother to put their bags into cans, nor are many of these receptacles animal-proof. It’s no wonder that bears like me will take up the opportunity to ransack your garbage and feast on your leftovers.

What can I say, we are opportunists, it is in our nature. And you know what? You keep doing it, week after week, so I, and others like me, keep returning to your neighbourhoods because we have a guaranteed food source.

In years like this where we do not have the same access to blueberries that we normally do, we will earnestly take you up on your offerings of refuse, bird seed, pet food and fallen fruit in your yard.

I do not claim to speak for my counterparts that have encroached too closely and paid the price. Their invasions are not something I condone and I hope these incidents are not viewed as representative of the entire black bear population.

The fall hunt starts on Saturday in most wildlife management units in Northern Ontario so I must begin closing this letter lest I get caught off-guard by humans preparing to seek us out.

You have your fall hunt and you may even advocate for a return of the spring bear hunt, but I hope that amidst all this heated conversation that you take a look in the mirror and assess your own behaviour and habits.

Natural food shortages may occur from year to year, so even with increased hunting pressure there’s no guarantee that we will not find ourselves at loggerheads once again.

Please consider storing your trash in a secure building and do not bring it out to the curb until the morning of collection. Complaining about us so-called nuisance bears, but continuing to flout one of the basic tenets of Bear Wise, truly perplexes me.

Hunting is certainly an integral component of bear management, but this does not let you off the hook when it comes to your own accountability. Be a better neighbour and a better friend to us, the bears.

(Mike Commito is an historian specializing in bear management history who resides in Greater Sudbury.)