Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The problem of black bears in town has continued, resulting in one more mother and cub relocation.
The intervention came after the bears were filmed snacking on berries on the fruit trees located on the median on the eastern end of Miette Avenue between Patricia Street and Connaught Drive.
The 90-second video making the rounds on social media was taken by Mike Gere of Jasper Photo Tours around 3:15 a.m. on Aug. 31. Seeing bears inside the municipality is more common than elsewhere, he said.
In the last few weeks, he has only seen one bear outside of town.
"The rest that I've heard of have been in the town of Jasper. That's probably the third or fourth encounter I've had with bears being in Jasper. They're always either being corralled by Parks Canada, or up in trees going for your chokecherries or crab apples."
The incident also offers a stark reminder of how both bears and humans are becoming habituated to each other. In the video, a small group of young women appear to be standing in close proximity to the trees and taking selfies with the bears in the background.
"Parks Canada is having a hard enough time managing the bears themselves, and people are way too close,” Gere said. “The bears are stressed."
As of Friday morning, eight bears continue to enter the townsite in search of food. The two bears from the video – a mother and its cub from this year – were captured in a family trap. They were released in the eastern region of the park in an effort to keep them becoming further food-conditioned, which should give them a better chance for survival.
While the number of bears in town is comparable to last year, Parks Canada's concern is that there is still so much of the season left before the bears go off to hibernate.
"There's still a lot of fruit out there," said Dave Argument, resource conservation manager in Jasper National Park.
“The mountain ash berries are just starting to really ripen now, so I would not be surprised to see that number increase further.”
He noted that even though the total number of bears is reduced, taking two individuals away effectively leaves a gap that the other eight will easily fill. There's a lot of berries and apples on Jasper's trees, and the bears won't ignore them.
"It's causing us quite a bit of challenge," Argument said. "It's not necessarily a good long-term strategy for solving this problem."
It's also a perennial problem, since mother bears teach their cubs that there's plenty of food in town. Those bears will keep returning time and time again, year after year, to feed, and they won't stop.
Bears in town mean a huge public safety issue. There haven't been any negative interactions so far this year (save a few instances of bears bluff charging dogs in yards), but any encounter could easily occur since we occupy the same streets.
Those young women in the video likely didn't realize how dangerous their actions were. That mother bear could have swiftly returned to ground and, seeing them in between her and her cub, viewed the group as a threat.
Argument called their actions "incredibly hazardous."
"That is clearly in opposition to every single bear safety message that we communicate for those young women to be that close to a mother and cub,” he said.
“That's under our wildlife viewing restricted activity order. That's actually an illegal activity to be that close to a bear and her cub, not to mention just plain not safety conscious in the least."
If charged, the individuals could face fines of up to $25,000.
The issue becomes heightened as this is the first week of September, meaning children are returning to school. Parks Canada reminds parents to take responsibility for their families' safety. Children walking to school need to be aware and/or accompanied by an adult.
Keeping these bears out of town is not possible while fruit remains accessible as a food source, Parks Canada advises. The options exist, however. That could mean that either the trees come down, barriers are put in place or the fruit gets picked as early as possible.
The Municipality of Jasper has been co-operating with the effort to remove non-native fruit trees on municipal property. Those Miette Avenue trees have already been removed, as have others in the townsite.
Every little bit helps, but the work needs to take place on a larger community-wide scale in order to achieve the goal and give bears the best chance of survival.
Residents who have fruit trees that they would like to remove may be able to access a free Parks Canada program. People can call 780-852-8118 for an assessment. For questions or concerns about fruit tree bear management in Jasper, please email [email protected].
Loni Klettl recently got the consent of the owner of the property she's renting to have their tree removed by Parks. The decision came after her experience returning home last weekend.
"I'm driving in on Sunday and I see these four bears in this stupid tree. I'm like, 'Oh my god, this is ridiculous. This is beyond ridiculous'," she said.
She has high praise for the tree removal program.
"Oh my gosh, it's the easiest thing ever. You just give them a call," she said. "All they care about is the safety of the animals."
Over the last couple of years, Parks has been involved in taking down several hundred fruit trees from co-operating leaseholders in town. That has slowed down recently, and there are still approximately 700 more trees, mostly in people's backyards, that still remain.
"We're happy to come and take those trees down free of charge if they're within our capability," Argument said.
If bears continue to feed on fruit trees, the risk to human safety may require the animals to be destroyed.
If you don't want to remove your bear attracting fruit tree, you could manage it by removing all of the fruit or establishing preventative measures.
Argument suggested that bear proofing such as metal skirting on the trunks would stop the bears from climbing the trees. People could also employ electrical deterrents.
As always, people must report bears in the townsite immediately by calling Jasper Dispatch at 780-852-6155.
Parks Canada staff respond to all reports and will haze bears out of trees and away from town when it is safe to do so. Please keep a minimum distance of 100 metres to give them the space they need to work safely.
Safety for all is the key message, Argument said.
"We continue to prioritize the safety of both humans and wildlife in this place. This is the bears' home. We're mandated to maintain and restore ecological integrity. All those messages are important.
“That's why trying to find a solution that allows the bears to be bears and live in this place and be safe in this place that is the bears' home alongside the people that live here. That's really what we're striving for. The best way to do that is to decrease all those incentives the bears have for coming into town."
