Conservation Officer Service

Bear Aware

People teach bears bad habits. If bears are allowed to access human food and garbage, they quickly learn to associate it with people and become what is called food-conditioned. These bears lose their fear of humans and become habituated to people.
Habituated and food-conditioned bears are more difficult to drive away than wild bears. If a bear develops a taste for human food, it usually keeps coming back for more. Wild bears can become permanently food-conditioned after only one encounter with non-natural food.
Food-conditioned bears learn to expect human food and are more likely to approach people than wild bears. These bears can damage your property and they are a potential risk to you and the safety of your family. In most cases, however, when a bear comes into conflict with people, it's the bear that loses.

Both bears and humans like to settle in lush valleys and along creeks. More people are developing in these areas which means that bears will be living in closer proximity to people. Bears that live near human settlements can become "problem" bears if they are allowed to access non-natural food.
Some conflicts with bears can be reduced if towns are planned with bears in mind. For example, subdivisions should not be build in prime bear habitat. Also, movement corridors should be provided for bears, allowing them to escape from towns and giving them access to additional habitat.