With bears trying to bulk up for winter, conservation officers are asking Coasters to pick their fruit, clean their barbecues, and contain their garbage and other bear attractants.
"Bears are going to be looking for food voraciously from now until the time they go into den," Sunshine Coast conservation officer Dean Miller said. "We probably have two months of time that these bears are looking to put on their last remaining fat stores so that they can survive the winter and sows can nurse their cubs."
Birdfeeders, for example, he said are a powerful bear attractant.
"Birdfeeders provide about 15,000 calories for a bear so it's a really good thing for a bear to achieve," he said. "Birdfeeders should be absolutely kept in a place that bears can't access them."
This week, for example, he said, a family group of a sow and two cubs has been going through garbage in Sechelt, between Ocean Avenue and Shorncliffe Avenue.
Miller advises anyone who sees them to walk away slowly, while keeping an eye on them.
"The sow may give a bluff charge or a few grunts and groans or whatever just to kind of push you way," he said. "Definitely don't go in between the sow and the cubs."
If anybody sees the sow and cubs, or any other bears, they should call the provincial emergency line at 1-877-952-7277.
