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Outdoor Nova Scotia: "The Best Way to be Informed."
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Close Encounters
of the Bear Kind! by Kevin MacDonell July 14th, 1998 Kentville, N. S. - There was no warning for the two occupants of the van. "The second we saw it, we were hitting it at the
same time," says Wayne Bona of River Bourgeois, near St. Peters on the south coast of
Cape Bona and a friend collided with a bear trying to cross the road the night of June 21. The bear was killed instantly. The Dodge Plymouth Voyageur was heavily damaged, but Bona and his friend, who was driving, got away with minor injuries. "I've lived here most of my life and I've never seen a bear before," Bona says. "Of course he had to be in the middle of the road!" Car-bear collisions are rare, says Tony Nette of the Department of Natural Resources in Kentville. "We have up to 10 or 12 hits every year," he says. For comparison, in 1997 there were more than 2000 reported vehicle-deer collisions. This collision, and a recent mauling of a woman in New Brunswick, is not a sign that bears and humans are crossing paths more often, Nette says. In fact, the number of incidents was down last year and will probably be down this year, too. The reason is an abundance of natural food in the forests. When food is plentiful, hunters bag fewer bears and nuisance bear complaints are reduced. Though last year was dry, the lack of frost in the spring resulted in a heavy berry set. "If we get some more moisture, this could be a great natural foods year," Nette says. But when times are lean, bears emerge from the woods to raid corn fields, blueberry orchards, home gardens, and even porches for dog food. Encounters with humans increase. Pat Clark of Titusville, New Brunswick, was walking her two dogs June 2 on a heavily-wooded trail near her home when she encountered a black bear. For an unknown reason, the bear attacked and mauled Clark, who ran more than a kilometer to her home and called an ambulance. She was hospitalized with cuts and bruises on her head, arm and torso. The cause of the attack is still under investigation. According to Nette, it was the first recorded mauling in the province of New Brunswick. There has never been a recorded case in Nova Scotia. Again, he says, this attack is not evidence of increased human-bear contact. In western Canada, black bears are responsible for about half of the 30 to 40 bear maulings that occur annually. It is not known for sure why eastern black bears are less likely to attack, but Nette theorizes our bears may have learned to avoid humans through 300 years of experience with deadly firearms -- or maybe we've weeded out the aggressive trait through hunting. Regarded as a natural enemy since the beginnings of European settlement in the 1600s, bears were hunted ruthlessly in Nova Scotia. Even after the last bear bounties were dropped in 1966, hunters continued to take 600 to 900 bears a year until 1988, when the province enacted strict legislation. The harvest dropped to about 150 bears a year. Hunters must now commit to a single, baited hunting site which must be registered with the government. A hunter hoping for a freezer of meat and a trophy hide or head must haul food to remote locations and keep long vigils, with only an outside chance of success. Following a brief revival of interest in hunting,
Nette says, the number of hunters is again in decline, probably because it's such
difficult work. (There are just 500 bear hunting licences issued a year in Nova Scotia,
compared to about 50,000 deer licences.) A total of 214 bears were taken in 1997, down
from the 291 bagged in 1996, according to DNR numbers. Bears are very shy animals and are usually successful at avoiding humans. In bear country, you can warn them by making noise - shouting, talking loudly, or banging a pot. Sometimes, though, you may stumble upon a bear unawares at short range. Do not approach any closer and do not attempt to scare the bear away by acting aggressively or making loud noises. Instead, slowly back away and leave the area. If the bear follows, move away faster. Drop an object in its path to slow it down -- it may stop to investigate your backpack, lunch bag, or camera, giving time for you to get away. If the bear attacks, reverse your strategy and attempt to fight your way out, being as aggressive as you can. Push it away and run. Don't play dead -- unlike a grizzly, a black bear won't lose interest.
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