More than a year after founding the Bear Education and Resource (BEAR) Network, Gerald Shaffer says the group has had great success in getting bear safety education out to businesses and the public, but it seems the job is just beginning.
"June is generally the slowest summer month for conflicts, but we are seeing a lot of people struggling," Shaffer said. "Anecdotally, I would say that the bear figures are up for this year."
Shaffer and other BEAR volunteers have found themselves quite busy offering education on request from individual residents.
"Residents on the Coast have residential conflicts -bears coming into their garden, taking their garbage, bears breaking into their sheds, sleeping on their back porches. We have a wide variety of people who are calling and just saying 'help' and we do that. We do it for free," he said.
Once called, BEAR will send someone to work with residents to identify what is attracting bears to their property, what they can do to stop it and what they should do if they have an encounter with one of the lumbering animals.
Shaffer said there have been some bizarre reports so far this year, including a bear in the Gibsons area that has learned to open car doors and, a couple weeks ago, found itself locked inside a car.
"The interior of the car was absolutely thrashed. It was in tatters," Shaffer said.
BEAR is also offering professional consulting for classrooms, community groups and businesses with employees who have a high likelihood of bear conflicts including rangers at the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club.
"It's a wonderful thing. I don't think there can ever be enough knowledge. I think there should be a yearly certification for people working in bear country to have this sort of knowledge," he said.
Beyond that, Shaffer said the sales of bear proof garbage bins BEAR has been offering through Gibsons Building Supplies have been selling well, but there are still many people who should have them. The 70-litre bins have been "grizzly tested" and "passed with flying colours."
They sell for about $89 and are the only bear proof cans on the market that are compliant with Sunshine Coast Regional District regulations for garbage containers, Shaffer said.
The reason for it all, Shaffer said, is to keep bears and people where they are happiest - apart from one another.
"I want people to love bears. I want them to enjoy that we live in a wild area and know how important bears are to our habitat," he said. "We could have a much more effective system that created fewer bear conflicts and as a result have to kill fewer bears, and I think everybody would be happy."
Shaffer welcomes calls for bear education, business consulting or volunteer opportunities on the BEAR phone at 604-865-0588.
"There are tools available to you that will help you stay safe in bear country. All people need to do is call," Shaffer said.
