the recent events are not typical<\/a> of normal black bear behaviour.<\/p>\nRead more:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the highest number of fatalities that we\u2019ve seen in a single year. So this is very unusual behaviour, but it can happen,\u201d O\u2019Hara said.<\/p>\n
She said bear behaviour can be influenced by a number of environmental and human factors, and that food availability is one of the biggest factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that can impact bear behaviour,\u201d O\u2019Hara said. \u201cSome of those can be environmental factors. If there\u2019s limited food availability, bears may be coming into closer areas and areas of human contact, looking for food.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara stressed the importance of removing anything that will draw bears in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing that we can do is try to minimize any attractants, so that we\u2019re not bringing bears into our areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some common attractants include garbage, pet food, bird feeders and leftover food at campsites.<\/p>\n
Despite the recent fatalities, O\u2019Hara said aggressive encounters with black bears are still rare, but certain circumstances can trigger a reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s typically sort of two types of negative interactions that we can have with a black bear,\u201d she said, noting\u00a0a bear may act defensively if it feels threatened or is protecting something important.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s typically when a bear is guarding a resource such as territory or food or its cubs,\u201d O\u2019Hara explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always say, \u2018Don\u2019t come between a mom and its cubs,\u2019 because that can trigger some sort of defensive interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said another type of encounter is much less common.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlternatively, there can be predatory interactions with black bears, which are incredibly rare, and that\u2019s when a bear is intentionally attacking a human,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Despite the recent attacks raising questions about whether Saskatchewan\u2019s black bear population is growing, O\u2019Hara said that is not what wildlife officials are seeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bear population in Saskatchewan is actually relatively stable,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we\u2019re not seeing any massive increases or decreases in bear populations.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara said bear numbers naturally fluctuate depending on conditions, but their biology also limits rapid population growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cFemale bears in Saskatchewan typically don\u2019t have their first cub until they\u2019re five years old, and then they\u2019re having cubs about every two years after that,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
For people spending time outdoors, O\u2019Hara stressed the importance of preparation and knowing how to respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do encounter a bear, the number one thing we would say is to be calm and don\u2019t run,\u201d O\u2019Hara said.<\/p>\n
Instead, she recommended other alternatives: \u201cMake a wide detour, back away slowly, speak in a firm, deep voice, and don\u2019t make direct eye contact with the bear,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara added that people travelling to areas with high bear populations should make sure they are prepared.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re out in bear country, carry bear spray where appropriate and know how to use it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As more people spend time at cabins, campgrounds and in the backcountry, O\u2019Hara said preventing conflicts starts before an encounter ever happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can really limit those human food sources out there, bears are less likely to come into our areas in seeking of food,\u201d O\u2019Hara said. \u201cInstead (they) will be out in the bush, out in nature, eating those natural food sources that they should be eating.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara said simple steps can help keep bears away from communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cBears are really intelligent creatures and they\u2019re ruled by their stomachs, so if they can\u2019t find food, they\u2019ll leave the area,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For generations, black bears have been a familiar part of Saskatchewan\u2019s landscape \u2014 roaming forests, river valleys and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":834924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-834923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/834924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}