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Column: A little bear R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Bears are scary, no doubt about that. They are big and strong. They have sharp teeth and claws. They can run faster than I can. They make scary sounds. They can see in the dark, and they know what I had for dinner.
081013_Bear
Sudbury leads the province for bear-related calls to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. File photo.
Bears are scary, no doubt about that. They are big and strong. They have sharp teeth and claws. They can run faster than I can. They make scary sounds. They can see in the dark, and they know what I had for dinner.

But do I worry about black bears when I travel alone in the woods? Absolutely not.

Despite their scary appearance, bears do not attack people. We are not their prey. The key to being unafraid of bears is understanding and respecting them.

What bears do most is to look for food. Imagine that you had only four or five months of the year to eat, then for the rest of the year you fasted. Bears must find enough food to build up a fat reserve to survive winter.

In a bear’s ideal world, fattening up would include an abundant supply of berries. This is supplemented with grasses, clover, fish and the odd beaver that wandered too far from water.

Bears have an amazing sense of smell. This is what ends up attracting them to places where people live. They smell the residue from your barbeque. They smell the sugar in your hummingbird feeder. They smell the chicken bones in your garbage.

So, being big and strong animals, they do what they have to do to get the food they need to survive.

The only way to keep bears out of your space is to keep the odours under control. Likely you know this already. But maybe someone forgot to put the sunflower seeds away. Maybe a neighbour put their garbage out the night before pickup.

Once a bear discovers a source of food, it will keep coming back. It is going to take a while to convince the bear that the food is gone.

Being afraid is not going to solve the problem. Understand that bears are afraid of us. Bears are especially afraid of things they have not encountered before.

Making big noises works for a while, until the bear learns that banging pots together is not a threat. Next time, use an air horn. Another time, yell and throw rocks. Use pepper spray. Make yourself look big by shaking black garbage bag over your head. Make sure your neighbours are also keep their yards clean.

People are 18 times more likely to be attacked by a dog than a bear. In fact, dogs are the main reason people are injured by bears. Wolves kill bears, so bears are afraid of wolves. Dogs are close enough to wolves for the bear to make the connection.

If you let your dog run loose, chances are it will chase the bear. If it gets close enough, the bear will turn to defend itself. If the dog hides behind you, you become the target. Keep your dog under control whenever you are in proximity to a bear.

On a leash by your side, the dog will deter the bear. Loose and chasing the bear, chances are high that the bear will come to you on the heels of your dog.

Ontario black bears are fascinatingly intelligent creatures. Learn about them through books from the library. Go to bearwithus.org to learn about bears, orphaned cubs and to find solutions to people/bear problems.

Most people will never get to see a bear in the wild. If you do get the opportunity, take in the majesty of the experience. Keep your distance so the bear knows you are not threatening it. Respect is key.

Viki Mather has been commenting for Northern Life on the natural world and life in Greater Sudbury since the spring of 1984.

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