SHARE ON: A black bear in the forest (Photo credit: MNRF)
Bears are waking up in the bush, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says don’t give them a buffet.
They are urging residents to take steps to prevent bears from visiting your home by making your trash harder to get at. While there is no risk to the public, the MNRF wants people to be aware that they will be coming out of hibernation. They will seek out your trash if there is a bad food year when they can’t find what they need in the bush. Jolanta Kowalski with the MNRF says bears will only stick around your property if they have an easy source of food. They have a good memory and will return to a place where they found food before. She says if you’ve had bear issues in the past, stay on top of the garbage. It only takes one property’s garbage to draw in a bear, and the community must work together to keep their trash under lock and key. Above all, Kowalski stresses that if they have natural food