As September begins and some fruits become ready to harvest, WildsafeBC is asking residents to manage their trees so they don’t attract wildlife.
WildsafeBC said if bears get a reward from a tree, they will return to the area over and over. While fruit may seem like a natural food source for bears, when it is in a human environment it can lead to the bear becoming comfortable and cannot be undone.
“If the bear is a female, the sow will teach its cubs the same thing. Especially in a community, that leads to habituation of bears,” said WildSafeBC Cranbrook/Kimberley Community Coordinator Danica Roussy. “This is quite unsafe and can become dangerous as they might begin to show signs of food conditioning and may even begin to protect that food source.”
WildsafeBC said a simple solution is to pick fruit early and let it ripen indoors or pick it daily as it ripens. Cleaning up windfall and pruning trees to manage growth is also important.
“If you do not want your trees to produce fruit, prune the tree vigorously or spray spring blossoms with a garden hose to knock the blossoms off the tree. Even consider replacing your tree with a native, non-fruit or nut-bearing variety,” said WildsafeBC.
Roussy said residents can take advantage of Wildsight’s Apple Capture program to help manage trees to keep or share the harvest.
“You can always donate it to a local food recovery program or contact your local food bank. There is potentially an opportunity to press them, as Wildsight also provides the pressing machine. So, you could make apple juice, apple sauce, and together we can turn wildlife attractants into locally sourced nutritious food,” explained Roussy.
Wildlife conflict can be reported to the Conservation Officer Service’s RAPP line or online at WildsafeBC’s Wildlife Alert Reporting Program (WARP).
