But the summer it has been dry in many parts of Manitoba and with the dry spell the nut's and berry's didn't grow. Or not as well as they do other years and this leaves some of nature creatures hungry. The bears are no exception the need to have enough food to store up their fat for winter. Bears hibernate all winter they live of the fat they stored up in summer and stay in there den's all winter.
But when it get's dry and their natural food isn't growing then they start looking for new sources to eat, and this can be a problem. Black bears are a shy creature under normal conditions but when they get hungry they get to be problematic. All to often they wonder into residential areas to look for food. This is where they become dangerous, at 350 to 400 lbs a black bear is no pussy cat.
When they wonder into residential area's the department of natural resources Trap the animal and deliver it back into the wild. In some cases this is not possible and the animal has to be killed for the safety of people and property. Because they shy away from people most of the time they don't posse a big threat but when they are hungry then it's a different story. They become aggressive although bear attack are rare they still happen. In 2005 one man was killed by a Black Bear while an other man was injured only one week apart.
The attacks are more common when the food supply is low. When there is plenty, hunger takes over and the shyness leaves. This year the food supply is low and the dangers of attacks are real. I live East of Winnipeg, and on Highway # 1, there have been three bears killed by vehicles this summer, and one was trapped in town at our local restaurant. Some of the locals have had there garbage ripped apart and spread all over the place.
In the case of Grand Beach the bear was out on the beach in daylight and this would posse a threat to the public and it could very easily have led to an attack. Some people are un-happy that this bear met his end but he would not have gone into a trap and if he did he would have come back just as soon. The next time they would not have been able to trap him. Once a bear has been trapped once the second time it's not easy to trap him again. Case and point, a few years ago the D N R set a trap for a bear and it was seen sleeping in the shade of the trap with bear bait in inside (The door was wide open).
The one mistake many people make is that they feed birds year round and a bear can smell bird food or any food for up to a mile away. When their hungry they will look for it and usually find it. The D N R warrens against feeding birds, but in the summer there are birds that you don't see in winter. So what is the answer? Here are some suggestions, Don't leave food out for your pet's,feed birds away from the house or not at all in the summer,enclose your garbage in a secure location till garbage day. Hope that mother nature provides for her creatures and
DON'T FEED THE BEARS.
DON'T FEED THE BEARS.
