A family of bears is making the rounds in Fernie, prompting warnings and reminders from the public to secure wildlife attractants.
Kathy Murray, WildSafeBC Elk Valley Community Coordinator said it’s imperative that people secure their garbage and any other attractants.
“Apparently they’ve been getting into unsecured garbage so we just want to remind people that garbage left outdoors and unmanaged fruit trees are an easy target for a hungry bear and other wildlife,” Murray told MyEastKootenayNow.com.
Murray said the black bear and its black and brown cubs have all been spotted in the Fernie area since the weekend, specifically in the Aiport subdivision.
Given the recent sightings and their continuing presence in the community, Murray is imploring the public to take necessary precautions and do their part to prevent wildlife encounters
“We can help prevent food conditioning of wildlife,” said Murray. “Food conditioning is a learned behaviour where bears begin to associate people and their property with a food reward, so if you remove the food reward the bears are less likely to return and that will result in keeping wildlife wild and improve community safety for everyone in our community.”