{"id":22584,"date":"2020-11-23T18:24:22","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T23:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=22584"},"modified":"2020-12-01T16:05:19","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T21:05:19","slug":"the-squirrel-cove-bear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/the-squirrel-cove-bear\/","title":{"rendered":"The black bear makes Squirrel Cove home"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roy L Hales<\/em><\/p>\n

Curt Cunningham<\/a>\u00a0first encountered the Squirrel Cove Bear while it was still a cub. Not knowing where the creature\u2019s mother was, Cunningham took refuge inside the Cove Restaurant. No mother bear appeared and the cub disappeared into the woods. That was a year or more ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been signs of him ever since. There is scat most nights, often all over the yard, but he\u2019s never caused much problem,\u201d said Cunningham, owner manager of the\u00a0Squirrel Cove General Store<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Cortes Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>

Areas where the bear has been spotted in Cortes. Photo adapted from Google Maps by Roy L Hales.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some months ago, a neighbour called\u00a0Laurel Bohart<\/a>\u00a0over to look at some scat in their property. As she has not previously seen bear scat herself, Bohart asked Doreen Guthrie to help identify it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, having seen piles of what is obviously apple scat in my yard, I know exactly what they look like: human sized, looks like someone has been eating a lot of apples,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The raids begin<\/h2>\n

The number of incidents abruptly increased about two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bear broke into our back yard, via our fence, leaving a belly shaped hole, where it pressed down on the wiring. It came in, rifled through the compost and about five to ten pounds of apples off my back deck \u2013 because I didn\u2019t know there was a bear. It ate all those, left five or six scat in the yard and exited the way it had come,\u201d said Bohart.<\/p>\n

Sandy Hoffman emailed that the bear \u201chad been at Dan & Meg\u2019s place a couple nights by the chickens.\u201d This must be the Dan Soutch, who Laurel said chased it off at least twice. Both of these incidents were reported to the Conservation Office Service (CO).<\/p>\n

Hoffman wrote that she lives beside Graham Blake. Consequently her dog \u201cwas very neurotic\u201d on the night of Friday, Nov. 6, when the bear broke through his fence to get at the apples left on the ground. At 9 a.m. the following Monday, the \u201cbear was caught passing through on Graham\u2019s trail cam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, the bear raided Hoffman\u2019s fenced yard in the early morning hours. It ate the \u201cfew remaining apples on tree\u201d and left \u201clots of scat,\u201d Hoffman said. Though the apples were gone, the bear returned at 10:35 that night. The bear was \u201chazed and ran.\u201d This incident was also reported to the Conservation Office.<\/p>\n

The bear raided another two houses that Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw an adult bear running away from me down our path at about 4:05 P.M., Nov. 13, \u201920, while it was still light. Apparently we are the fifth Squirrel Cove Road neighbour to have a bear in our yard since Graham Blake\u2019s webcam siting. It looks like the 300 salmon in a day in Basil Creek aren\u2019t enough, so it\u2019s been checking out apples & chicken coops. The lady at the Conservation Officer\u2019s says to put away all attractants, but that bears can get into ANY container. Best!\u201d Nancy Beach<\/a> emailed.<\/p>\n

According to Sandy Hoffman\u2019s list, the bear was \u201ceating rotten apples at Loyd & Nancy\u2019s\u201d and also returned to Bohart\u2019s.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

On the morning of Saturday, Nov. 14 the \u201cbear ate thru garbage at Bobbi & Jason\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Thompson subsequently mentioned three raids on his property during the course of a week. He is a drone operator and the first incident occurred the night he went outside to make sure his craft\u00a0 was charged up for work the following morning. There was garbage strewn across the yard and he heard the bear\u2019s frantic escape into the woods. Jason subsequently tried to protect his garbage by placing concrete blocks on top of the containers. That didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

There were more incidents the following Sunday. Though there were no remaining attractants, the bear returned to Sandy Hoffman\u2019s in the early morning hours and Bohart\u2019s, again, that evening.<\/p>\n

Hoffman heard a gunshot at 7:30 p.m., but does not think it was unrelated to the bear visits.<\/p>\n

Derek and Lore Mack-Mumford have lived in Squirrel Cove for twenty years. They have raised chickens and grown apples throughout that time, without any bear incidents.<\/p>\n

Their daughter Leslie, and her husband Stephano Perdisa, live in a smaller house on the same property.<\/p>\n

Returning from Campbell River, around lunchtime on Monday, Nov.16, Leslie found the door to her cellar burst open. Most of the apples stored inside had been eaten.<\/p>\n

The bear attempted to access the apples stored inside the Mack-Mumford residence early the following morning. It tore at the siding. Derek responded by making noises, which caused the startled animal to flee. While neither Derek or Lore saw the bear, it snowed during the night and they found a trail of bear tracks circling their house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the strangers here,\u201d they said, later.<\/p>\n

The bears have been in this area for thousands of years. If we don\u2019t want to attract them, we need to make our properties less accessible.<\/p>\n

Leslie was putting up an electric fence around her chicken coop when Cortes Currents called. She did not have time to be interviewed.<\/p>\n

Derek said they have a large garden as well, and the fence will probably cost a couple of thousand dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had that bear coming back for the last ten days, but it didn\u2019t come back last night. We think it is because it is not finding anymore food. If there is no food for the bears to get into, it is not going to bother coming back,\u201d said Bohart.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The back of the Squirrel Cove General store, as seen from the road. Photo courtesy of Google Maps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enter the conservation officer<\/h2>\n

According to\u00a0Brad Adams<\/a>, a Conservation officer (CO) who normally works out of the Port McNeill office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reports to the CO service have only been a week and a half to two weeks of phone calls, probably ranging in the 4-5 call range. A couple from the same property, where they are seeing the bear on a more regular basis. \u2026 We received reports about a bear, possibly two bears that have been attracted to apples left out and available to the bear \u2026 It doesn\u2019t seem like the bear\u2019s primary focus was chickens, it seems to be gravitating towards fruits,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n

There have also been reports of pets missing, which Adams said is more typically associated with wolf or cougar behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf bears find themselves frequenting Squirrel Cove and Whaletown, it is going to be really difficult to manage them,\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n

There are large quantities of natural fruits and free range livestock. No electric fencing is in place, to prevent access. Many outlying structures need to be repaired or replaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year has been a learning experience for people on Cortes who have not seen a bear in the last couple of years. We\u2019ve seen two and always have the plus one rule. So if we\u2019ve seen two, there could be three or four. There could be multiples. We are fairly close to the Mainland coast and Vancouver Island. It doesn\u2019t take long for a bear to make its way there,\" Adams said.<\/p>\n

\n

\"The

The entrance to one of the driveways on Squirrel Cove Road. Photo courtesy Google Maps.<\/p><\/div>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adams suspects Cortes could have both transient and resident bears.<\/p>\n

\u201cCortes is ideal bear habitat. I would expect they are there all the time. Why the sightings are so few and far between could speak to the amount of natural food sources out in the green spaces,\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect you do get bears that swim out regularly, same as any of the other islands. The bears will go from island to island looking for food sources and if they don\u2019t find any food sources or prime habitat on an island they\u2019ll just move on the the next one,\" he added.<\/p>\n

How many bears are there?<\/h2>\n

Sandy Hoffman posted on Facebook about the description of the bear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings I\u2019ve learned about our regular visitor, the Squirrel Cove bear\u2026 Had a visual of it under our apple tree from about 20 ft away.\u00a0 I had originally guessed a young male bear 150-200 lbs from this\u2026 but hard to guess with all the fur. Now a footprint showing the front paw to be about 4 inches wide\u2026 this roughly translates to a height of roughly 5 feet.\u00a0 \u00a0This seems reasonable based on my visual.\u00a0 Also suggests the weight is likely closer to 150 lbs. I\u2019m going with a 3 year old male.\u00a0 I think it now sounds different than the one Curt saw last year if he saw a little cub.\u00a0 \u00a0This one is not that little although still not a mature bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were reports of a bear in Whaletown earlier this year, so CKTZ asked Bohart, \u201cHow do we know it\u2019s not the Squirrel Cove Bear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t because the bears will roam where-ever their nose takes them. We\u2019re calling them the Whaletown Bear, the Squirrel Cove Bear: they are Cortes bears. They might not actually live here, although [local biologist]\u00a0Sabina [Leader Mense]<\/a> is certain they do,*\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway the bear we have at Squirrel Cove is probably a yearling, which means this years cub grown up. It\u2019s been spotted down at Squirrel Cove Store, at Basil Creek eating fish<\/a> and possibly on the beach \u2013 which might be a second bear. We don\u2019t know,\" Bohart added.<\/p>\n

Speaking as a taxidermist who has worked with about a hundred bears, Bohart added that the prints she saw probably belong to a female bear.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The Whaletown bear<\/h2>\n

There was supposedly another bear, in Whaletown, earlier this year. How do we know the\u00a0Whaletown Bear\u00a0<\/a>is dead?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a rumour. Someone heard a shot [one night] and the bear was never seen again,\u201d said Bohart.<\/p>\n

The corpse was supposed to go to the Klahoose First Nation, who would have used it for food. Bohart was to have taught people how to preserve the different parts of its body. None of that occurred.<\/p>\n

Brad Adams knew more about this story, \u201cWe found the bear carcass, but couldn\u2019t determine what happened based on the amount of decay that had already set in. It doesn\u2019t take long in the summer, in the sun, for things to break down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"A

A previous\u00a0Wild Cortes exhibit at Linnaea Farm. Photo courtesy of Richard Truman.<\/p><\/div>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exhibit: \u2018The Big Three: Cougars, Wolves and Bears.\u2019<\/h2>\n

Bohart emailed that the bear sightings tie in with the next\u00a0Wild Cortes<\/a>\u00a0exhibit at\u00a0Linnaea farm<\/a>: \u2018The Big Three: Cougars, Wolves and Bears.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be collecting \u2018Big Three\u2019 stories. We in Squirrel Cove have our own bear stories now. I have an imprint of the bear\u2019s left fore paw in the plastic of a Sunshine Mix bale. Go figure!\u201d<\/p>\n

While the official opening date has not been set, the cougar, bear and wolf pelts Bohart contributed are already on display.<\/p>\n

The Wild Cortes Exhibit at Linnaea Education Centre, 1255 Seaford Rd., is open noon to 3 p.m. every Saturday. COVID-19 protocols in place.<\/p>\n

Visitors are encouraged to call\u00a0the Cortes Island Museum<\/a>\u00a0at 250-935-6340, or\u00a0email them<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n

Changing bear behaviour<\/h2>\n

Bears normally pass through properties and disappear quickly when they see humans.<\/p>\n

They are intelligent creatures, and once a bear learns that it is easy to obtain food around houses it is difficult to change its behaviour, according to the conservation office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bear is not going to be able to distinguish between your blueberry plants and the ones that grow in the wild. If he finds something that is easily accessible he will utilize that food source,\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur biggest recommendation is that anyone who has livestock \u2013 whether its pigs, goats, sheep or chickens \u2013 is that the area in which they are kept be electrified to prevent bears from getting in to the fields where they are kept. And the dwelling they reside in \u2013 whether it is a barn, chicken pen or some kind of run in pens \u2013 must be built in a structural manner so it is not easily accessible \u2026\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Adams said that everyone has to do their part to ensure that the bears stay safe and are kept away from dwellings to \"prevent desensitized habitual behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recommend that if anyone has fruit or vegetables, they pick them as they become ripe. If a bear is beginning to access a fruit tree or garden, the contents of the tree or garden need to be removed,\" he said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"A

A screenshot of the black bear from Graham Blake\u2019s trail web camera video on Oct. 3.<\/p><\/div>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Reasons bears keep returning<\/h2>\n

Bears do not frequent residential areas for two or three weeks unless there is a reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where we start looking at the residences. Are people leaving their garbage out? Or their fruit on the ground? Or not storing their fruit properly?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams was not aware that the Squirrel Cove Bear had been in the area for a year or more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where a couple of calls to the CO Service would really help. We\u2019ve seen quite a bit \u2026 through generations of conservation officers. working with wildlife branch, their regional biologists and veterinarian specialists. We\u2019ve developed a fairly string understanding of why and what the bears might there for,\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that would help us manage the attractant side of things, to prevent the bear\u2019s behaviour from escalating to what it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wildlife are attracted to a lot of things that most people would not think about. For example, a lot of dish detergents have fruit or floral scents.<\/p>\n

\u201cBears have bitten into dish detergent containers because of the apple scent,\" Adams said. \"They obviously found out it didn\u2019t taste that good, but the aromas that come off of certain products does act as an attractant \u2013 whether the bear would consume it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He listed some common items that attract bears:<\/p>\n