There’s a reminder to be bear aware in Hope after a recent bear sighting at Kawkawa Lake.
Despite the recent chill, Hope’s resident bear family was spotted last Thursday (Jan. 23) crossing the road at Kawkawa Lake. In light of the bears choosing to spend their winter by being awake and active, Hope’s local bear advocate Lydia Koot is asking the community to not do anything that might put the safety — of both the bears and people — at risk.
“Bears don’t really go into hibernation. They go into torpor,” Koot said. “Which is like hibernation. But they wake up from time to time (during the winter) to go out and find food. Most of the time, at this of the year, there’s usually nothing because of the snow. And they go right back to sleep. But if they find food, because people still put their garbage out during the week then there’s no need to go to sleep.
“They will keep coming out. They might go to sleep for a few days but then they’ll come out. So, it’s really important that there’s no food out there for them.”
Koot said it is important that people keep their distance from the bears. And it is important that people be mindful of how they dispose their food. In fact, one of the biggest concerns here, she said, is making sure that people are putting out their garbage in a bear safe manner. She recommends: not putting garbage or green bins out the night before; and not adding food scraps or putting out strong smelling garbage bins that aren’t securely locked up.
Other things people can do is: being mindful of when and how you throw away your food; wash your recycling; don’t feed pets outside or leave pet food or chicken feed outside; only put a little bit of bird feed outside; and take the feeder inside for the night.
Koot also reminds people to pay attention when they’re going for a walk and to make sure their dogs are on leashes at all times. This, she said, lessens the risk of dogs chasing after bears, and of bears chasing and attacking dogs and their owners. Not wearing earbuds and making a lot of loud noise, when outside, also reduces the chance of startling bears.
It is also important for drivers to slow down; according to Koot, the bear family lost one of its cubs back in November after it was hit by a car.
“We should always be alert and aware,” Koot said. “Things will change with climate change. I keep saying to people, I’ve (been living) 18 years in Hope. And nobody has ever been mauled by a bear. Black bears are not a big threat to people. But we also want to keep the bears safe. And there’s a lot we can do to keep ourselves safe and to keep the bears safe.”
If anyone has more information about the bear family, or any bear in Hope, and where they’ve been seen, people should contact Koot on Facebook so she can keep track of them.