With bears active in many neighborhoods across the Central Okanagan, the Regional Waste Reduction Office reminds residents to reduce wildlife conflicts by managing your attractants, including your household garbage.
Waste Reduction facilitator Rae Stewart says bears have a keen sense of smell and can easily become food conditioned. “Don’t attract bears or any other wildlife to your garbage unnecessarily. If they find your waste, they can make a real mess, and pose a risk to you, your family, and themselves.” Stewart says securing attractants is the single best way to help keep yourself and bears safe. That can even include keeping garbage carts in a locked shed or garage until garbage day.
Stewart adds for the third year in a row, the Regional District is partnering with WildSafeBC to help provide bear awareness across the entire Central Okanagan. “The WildSafeBC Central Okanagan program helps reduce wildlife conflicts by providing education across the region for residents, monitoring carts set out the night before pick-up, and monitoring bear and wildlife activity in general. This is in addition to the Okanagan Westside WildSafeBC program.”
As for the bear resistant cart pilot program, the program is on hold for the time being. Carts tested thus far failed to meet the requirements regarding durability, ease of use and size demands require to roll out on masse to a wide scale audience.
WildSafeBC tips to keep wildlife wild and communities safe:
For sightings of bears, cougars or coyotes in the community or to report wildlife human conflicts please contact the BC Conservation Officer Service Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1.877.952.7277.
For more information on deterring bears from your garbage, visit wildsafebc.com