Be bear-wise in Sooke: Bear-proof your yard
–Wild Wise Sooke
Although watching a bear feed in your yard can be an exhilarating experience, it almost always leads to trouble at a future date. Making sure your home and yard are bear-proof is an essential part of making your community safe for both bears and people. Here’s how:
- Keep your home bear-attractant free. Don’t attract bears to your property with garbage, bird feeders, fruit trees and berry bushes, gardens, compost, dirty barbecues (grease cans or drip trays) or pet food.
- Don’t stockpile garbage and recycling in large quantities. Store it indoors; or outdoors in bear-proof containers. If your community has curb-side pick-up, don’t place it outside until just before pick-up.
- Bears can and will climb through open windows and doors. Consider keeping them closed and locked during bear season, especially if you know there is a bear in the area.
- Use specially designed bear deterrents – remotely triggered noisemakers and sprinklers or unwelcomeelectric door mats – to discourage bears from entering your property, especially while you are away for extended periods.
- If you encounter a bear in an urban area, remain calm. Give the bear plenty of space and an easy escape route. Make lots of noise to encourage it to leave; Call your local conservation/wildlife officer and report your bear sighting.
- Keep the whole neighbourhood safe by encouraging your neighbours to follow Wild Wise Sooke practices, too.
What People Are Saying-We too need a place to live and thrive. If you protect wild spaces for bears and learn to live with us you are in fact protecting your own kind.~Jeanie-the-Bear
Debb Read
Wild Wise Sooke
A community program
Resources
- Wild Wise Sooke: Local bears need absence of human interference to successfully hibernate
- Wild Wise Sooke: The latest bear hotspots in Sooke (Oct 9, 2019)
- Wild Wise Sooke: Bears out in Sooke, full force!
- Wild Wise Sooke issues dire warning: clean up your trash or see more bear conflicts
- Preparing for hibernation season in bear country
- Preparation for hibernation puts bears on a massive calorie intake search
- Want fewer bears put down? Manage your garbage, pick your fruit!
- Increased bear sightings, what you need to know, and how to keep bears alive
- Bear sightings at Potholes, between parking lots 3 and 2
- Black bear wants some water play in Sunriver
- A sure sign of spring for residents of Sooke is the return of bears.
- Bear in Area signs emerge from hibernation
- Wild Wise Sooke presents falling numbers in Sooke
- Bear conflicts are on the rise
- Wild Wise Sooke reminds SUNRIVER residents to store garbage indoors and manage attractions
- Reminder from Wild Wise Sooke: Bears are emerging from the hills
- Be bear-wise in Sooke: Bear-proof your yard
- First bear destroyed, Wild Wise Sooke urges education
- Be Bear Wise: Wild Wise Sooke suggests spring cleaning, minimize attractants
- More cougar cautions for Sooke Potholes hiking area
