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Managing bear attractants the topic of new Port Moody pop-up series

There have been nearly 20 known bear encounters or sightings in the city, half of which involved the animal(s) rummaging through garbage.
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer

Port Moody bears remain out and about even with the season's starting to shift.

According to the alert reporting program by WildSafeBC — as of 10 a.m. today (Sept. 7) — there have been 18 known bear encounters or sightings in the city during the first week of September out of 61 across the Tri-Cities region.

The program says about half of the reported encounters involved bears looking for food in garbage cans.

Bear sightings - Tri-Cities Sept. 1-7, 2021 Port Moody
There were 18 known bear sightings were reported in Port Moody between Sept. 1-7, 2021. | WildSafeBC Wildlife Alert Reporting Program

In an effort to keep the public in the know, Tri-Cities Bear Aware is set to host a series of pop-up public information sessions in public parks this month with a focus on how to best manage attractants like food and garbage.

Dubbed Bear Essentials, interested residents are set to be educated about "basic bear biology," which is said to be beneficial in keeping them, yourself and your family safe.

Tips about how to respond to bear encounters are also set to be provided.

Experts will be set up at the following locations:

  • Rocky Point Park
    • Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Old Orchard Park
    • Sept. 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Bert Flinn Park
    • Sept. 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Bear Essentials pop up tent is set to include a scavenger hunt for families with kids interested in exploring the local ecosystems in the parks.

Meanwhile, WildSafeBC encourages residents to consider the following tips around bears:

  • Keep your garbage in or secured until the day of collection. Garbage is the number one attractant cited in reports to the provincial hotline
  • Manage your fruit trees
    • Don’t let windfalls accumulate, and pick fruit as it ripens
    • If you don’t want the fruit, consider...
      • Accessing a fruit gleaning group in your community
      • Washing the blossoms off in the spring so the fruit doesn’t set
      • Replacing the tree with a non-fruit bearing variety
  • Don’t put out bird feeders when bears are active
    • A kilo of bird seed has approximately 8,000 calories and is a great reward for a hungry bear
  • Keep your compost working properly with lots of brown materials and a regular schedule of turning
  • If you have livestock or backyard chickens use a properly installed and maintained electric fence to keep bears and livestock apart

The public is also being reminded to check all of your surroundings when out in the backcountry as bears are known to hang out in trees.