North Shore Black Bear Society

Even though bears are not as consumed by the need to find food when they're fresh out of hibernation as they are in the fall, they will be tempted by unsecured garbage, pet food, bird feeders and doorstep food deliveries, given the opportunity. Once consumed, these high-calorie foods will keep bringing bears back to homes, often contributing to their untimely and avoidable deaths. NSBBS

Critter Care Wildlife Society are caring for their first orphaned cub of the year. This little boy was found alone on a logging road. Orphaned West Vancouver girls, Dandelion and Blueberry, are still at Critter Care and will be released in the summer. Rehabilitating black bear cubs and other native mammals is costly and our friends at Critter Care are solely funded by your generous donations. ... Visit crittercarewildlife.org to make a donation or purchase much needed items from their ‘Wish list’.

We hope to see more enforcement from BCCOS across the North Shore this year, especially in areas where residents are failing to act on advice. However, the BC Conservation Officer Service do not have the resources to address the huge amount of non-compliance and wildlife attractants around homes on the North Shore. If you are seeing repeated issues with neighbours failing to take responsibility, we strongly encourage you to contact your municipal bylaw department. The District of West Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver both have bylaws for wildlife attractants on properties. Solutions and support are offered, but sometimes, enforcement is needed.

Are your bear feeders still up? We are receiving regular reports of bears finding bird feeders across the North Shore. This is a friendly reminder to please take down all bird feeders until late winter. Bird seed and suet are highly sought after food for a bear. Bird seed is very nutritious and contains fats, oils and proteins that are irresistible to bears. Bears will also sniff out scattered seed or nuts. Bears that find bird feeders and other unnatural food sources i...n the neighbourhood will keep returning, and all too often will be killed. Bears will climb onto a second floor deck for a high calorie bird feeder. They are agile climbers with a long reach, it is almost impossible to hang a bird feeder where a persistent bear cannot access it. Bears are active during the day, taking your bird feeder in at night is not the solution. Please suspend feeding birds until bears are denning in the late winter and even then, only place a very small amount of seed out when you are home to enjoy the birds. Encourage birds to visit your garden by investing in a bird bath, sand box or nesting box. Please share this information with neighbours and friends and help us reduce bear activity close to homes! Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife

More than two dozen advocacy groups from Pacific Wild to Justice for B.C. Grizzlies have joined forces, forming the B.C. Bear Alliance. Organizers say they want to promote improved co-existence between humans and bears in B.C. The North Shore Black Bear Society is honoured to be part of the newly formed BC Bear Alliance. NSBBS Executive Director, Luci Cadman, currently sits on the BCBA Executive Committee.

Bear sightings on Bowen Island are rare, but sometimes bears will swim from the mainland in search of a safe place and food. We are grateful to a Bowen Island resident who reached out to us for permission to distribute our one-page guide to living and recreating in bear habitat to the community. Let’s hope residents act on advice to secure attractants and welcome this bear by providing them a safe place to spend the winter.

We've just ended registration for our virtual AGM tomorrow night on Eventbrite. If you did not receive a Zoom code from us or you still wish to join, please email [email protected] and we'll send you the link!

Many of us on the North Shore are fortunate to live beside forested areas and creeks. Young bears seek safety from dominant males in these green spaces close to our homes. They are forced to live closer to people and be more active during the day. This beautiful little bear lives in North Vancouver. On this particular summer evening, they made themselves a little bed and clawed at the fallen tree in search of bugs. On other days, this bear was seen foraging on mountain ash a...nd grasses. Many times when we receive reports of bear activity in residential areas the bears are eating natural foods! We wish this little North Shore bear well and hope they will avoid the temptation of garbage and bird seed in the community and enter their den very soon! Bears are still active across the North Shore. Be kind to bears by giving them lots of personal space and by making sure there is no food for them outside of your home. Marisa M

Hear more from ''bear behaviour expert and guide'' Ellie Lamb at our 2020 virtual AGM on Thursday night. Ellie will present 'Bears as teachers'. A short summary of our outreach and 2020 North Shore bear activity will commence the meeting. Everyone is welcome! Please register to receive the Zoom meeting details.

Tony Joyce Photography

In response to the recent killing of a mother bear and her three cubs in Princeton, and all the other unnecessary bear deaths across British Columbia, our director Ellie Lamb has these important points to share. Food conditioned and habituation are terms used to justify the killing of bears by our government. There are serious inaccuracies in their wording around bears such as breaking in to a building when they just walked into an open garage, food conditioned when ...Continue reading

All predators on the British Columbia coast need our protection. You can help end commercial trophy hunting in the Kitlope Conservancy and surrounding area fore...ver. We need $100,000 to buy out Kitlope's hunting tenure, which would mean the end of commercial trophy hunting in over 5,300 square kilometres of priceless temperate rainforest. Not only will your donation help save the lives of bears, wolverines and wolves like the ones you see in this video it will be matched by donors as passionate about preserving the natural world as you are, doubling your impact. Donate here: https://www.raincoast.org/great-bears/donate/

We’re always looking out for bears, bear sign and attractants whilst canvassing, but during Halloween we’re on high alert for cackling witches and spooky ghouls! Bears are very active in the fall and they won’t be denning any time soon if we keep leaving food outside our homes! Please display pumpkins in your window and treats inside your home. Bears are exploring for food sources day and night, we have a responsibility to secure or remove food around our homes 24 hours a day..., 7 days a week, 365 days a year! Please keep reporting North Shore bear activity to us, so we can get out there with education to help save our bears! northshorebears.com [email protected] 604 317 4911

Next Monday morning, we'll be joining our friends at Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre for a virtual bear workshop! Register through the link below

We love to see wild families together in their habitat. This black bear mom will soon be snuggled up with her cubs inside their winter den after a busy few months of teaching them important survival skills, such as scent marking, finding seasonal foods, and how to climb and swim.

During the late spring and summer months, bears consume a huge amount of berries each day (evidence of which can be found in their scat.) Bears disperse thousands of seeds through their scat, fertilize the forest and help to maintain a healthy and balanced ecosystem. What type of berries do you think this black bear had been eating and what could grow from this deposit packed full of seeds?... Michelle Joyce

Let us introduce you to Bert and Ernie. We first heard about this package deal in the late spring. They have been, and are still active around Capilano, Cleveland, Montroyal, Grousewoods, Upper Delbrook, Upper Lonsdale and Braemar. With all our activities in their home, it often allows bears little uninterrupted time to rest or forage during the day. Bears are in our neighbourhoods to seek safety, rest, eat natural foods and grab some extra calories from humans. In all their ...time around people, nobody has expressed to us they felt at risk from these bears. We don’t want Bert and Ernie to live around your home, but they do have a right to use the wildlife corridors we built our homes next to. Set the boundaries, and these intelligent animals listen. Bert and Ernie are at risk of being killed soon, as they are finding unnatural foods in all the above communities. Please help us to get these bears through the season and encourage them to den. Keep garbage and organics inside your garage Secure carport garbage in an enclosure; always keep locked and secure so cart cannot be tipped (bungee cords work well) Freeze odorous food and keep carts clean Wash milk jugs and all food containers. Keep recyclables secure until morning of pickup No items (garbage/organics/recycling) at curbside until morning of collection (as per bylaws) Bears love birdseed and suet. Only place a very small amount on a plate when you are home Pick all fruit from trees and collect and secure fallen fruit Feed your pets inside Keep grill and grease traps clean Display pumpkins in your window and not outside Keep treats inside If a bear is sleeping on your property, we advise not disturbing them. As they rouse, talk to them and encourage them to move on with your voice, from a safe place. We are confident that they will leave, as long as there is no food keeping them there. We really hope that you will help us to get these basics out to neighbours, friends and family who live in bear country. Bears like Bert and Ernie depend on us to take these small measures to help save their lives. Elyse T #helpbertandernie

We are extremely grateful to staff and Mayor and Council at the North Vancouver District for supporting our educational outreach and our wildlife! We happily provide education and solutions to help residents manage wildlife attractants, however, many fail to act on our advice and insist that the bear be ''removed''. The implementation of an attractants bylaw and increase in fines for non-compliance will go a long way to help reduce human-caused bear deaths on the North Shore.

It is not too late to register for our workshop this evening at 7pm, Exploring in Bear Country. Email [email protected] for tonight’s Zoom link. Next Wednesday evening we’ll be talking black bears, cougars and coyotes. Learn about season habits, identifying sign, how to reduce wildlife activity around our homes and what to do in an encounter. Thank you to our friends at North Vancouver District Public Library for hosting these two free online events!

Black bears have impressive climbing skills, thanks to five short, sharp, curved claws on each paw. We wonder how many times you’ve walked through the forest or neighbourhood and not noticed a bear hiding, sleeping or foraging in the tree canopy above?! Trees are a safe place for these peaceful animals. Black bears evolved in forested areas, making the dense, vast forests of the North Shore the perfect home.... This is a young bear we encountered a few times over the late spring and summer in North Vancouver. Luci

Thank you to COS for removing the traps and closing this area to the public. Please always adhere to trail closures. Bears are under pressure to find nourishment as they prepare to den. Relocating a vulnerable family -who have likely already prepared their den- into another bear’s home range is incredibly stressful and does not give the family a good chance of survival. Temporary trail closures to allow our bears space to forage is what we want to see!

When we encroach on their space, we disrespect the natural order of the ecosystem, putting stress on every species that shares the bounty of the river.

Thanks to our friends at North Vancouver District Public Library for hosting two free online bear workshops. Join us the next two Wednesday evenings to learn about living and exploring in bear country! Register in the link below