
The season for bears in the West Kootenay in 2024 was silent but deadly as activity was reported as low but the amount of bears killed was among the highest in the province.
The Heritage city had little tolerance for misbehaving bruins last year as it ranked third in the province for most bears “dispatched” by provincial conservation officers at eight — Williams Lake (13) and Kamloops (11) had more — while the neighbouring cities of Castlegar only had one and Rossland only had two dispatched.
Trail had five problem bears dispatched, Christina Lake, Grand Forks and Revelstoke each had three. Fruitvale, Kaslo, Hills and Salmo witnessed two problem bears dealt with, while Creston, Greenwood, Mirror Lake, Warfield, Wynndel and Winlaw all had one each.
Although 39 bears were dispatched in the Kootenay-Boundary, bear activity was relatively quiet, said the region’s WildSafeBC coordinator, Lisa Thomson, when speaking with Castanet (Nelson) in December.
Thanks to an abundant wild berry season, many bears remained higher up the mountains enjoying natural food sources during the bear season, she said.
As per Conservation Officer Status (COS statistics), there were 189 reports involving black bears in Nelson and RDCK areas E and F. Overall, there were 296 RAPP reports for human-wildlife conflict throughout the season, which ends Dec. 6.
“Often, we see higher conflict around mating/dispersal season (May-June) that involves yearlings dispersed from the sow, that are navigating life on their own,” she pointed out. “Additionally, residents have been complacent with waste management over the winter months, and are delayed in remembering bear smart practices. Along with increasing number of visitors to the area unawares of being in bear country.”
The statistics and the deaths were a reversal from the 2023 season when no black bears were destroyed but there was a laundry list of bear problems in downtown Nelson.
It was considered an “unprecedented season” in the city with no bears extinguished due to human conflict — although two animals were put down due to injury — but both Gyro Park and the Rail Trail were closed in fall of 2023 due to bears living in the area.
At the time, Thomson was questioned and said it was difficult to say how the bruin issue had been evolving to such a state.
“If you asked someone 20 to 30 years ago, ‘Did we have this many bears in town?’ then the answer was probably ‘No.’ However, were we managing our garbage better back then or did we have less garbage? … We never threw out food waste, so there was less garbage going out,” she said. “There has always been an interface with bears and wildlife here …”
There had been no action on management of the garbage situation for years, Thomson explained.
“With all of the factors … like people not having bear-proof containers for their garbage and not treating their attractants appropriately, I feel like every year is going to be an unprecedented season for bears until we lock down what is attracting them,” she warned at the time.
Fast forward one year and there are now bear resistant garbage cans in all parks within city limits, with the older open garbage bins having been removed. And due to a generous grant given to Kootenay Lake Tourism, bear resistant garbage cans have been installed in popular areas throughout the region, as well as some School District No. 8 schools that had bears accessing open-top garbage containers.
What is human-wildlife conflict?
Human habituated
When wildlife become less fearful of humans and urban areas. This is a learned response and behaviour.
Food conditioning
Wildlife become reliant on human-generated food sources. This is a learned behaviour, that can be taught to offspring.
Together, this increases the risk of human-wildlife conflict, which can lead to safety concerns for both the community and wild animals.
Source: WildsafeBC
Nelson coverage
- The operation of the Nelson WildSafeBC includes the City of Nelson and the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s Areas E and F, from Ainsworth, along the West Arm of Kootenay Lake incorporating the North Shore, Harrop-Proctor, down to Bonnington and Beasley.
- WildsafeBC is a program created and delivered by the BC Conservation Foundation with the goal of reducing human-wildlife conflict through collaboration, innovation and community solutions.
- WildsafeBC helps communities manage interactions with bears, and also deer, cougars, coyotes, skunks, and rats.
Source: WildsafeBC