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Bear Update:

Transition to summer bear activity

Whistler Black Bear Project

Diet change = habitat use shift

Whistler black bears are beginning the summer transition period as they shift from grazing green-up (grasses, clover, horsetail, and dandelion flowers) to foraging carpenter ants ( Camponotus spp.) and ripening berries.

Diet change causes shifts in habitat use. Bears are beginning to leave open areas or corridors of green-up for timbered ridges, rock out-crops, and shrub-dominated patches. Grasses and clover are maturing and becoming too concentrated with cellulose for bears to digest efficiently. Ski area bears are following the progression of green-up to upper slopes where plants remain in the earliest stages of growth and cellulose is lower. The warmer spring (April-June) has bumped the diet shift about two weeks ahead of seasonal patterns.

Ants = protein

The single, largest source of protein for bears is carpenter ants and ant larvae. The ant feeding period begins in July and supplements the bear’s diet with protein before the major patches of berries are available.

Ants are found in rotten logs and tree stumps and under rocks. Bears will also forage ants near the foundations of houses. Observations have revealed bears ripping apart old wooden foundations that have been infested with ants.

Scats from ant feeding will have the appearance of black sawdust. Look closely and you may identify the tiny thoracic region of the ants’ bodies.

Bears also consume various nesting structures of bees and wasps. The honeycomb from bees’ nests are torn from subterranean nests between roots of second growth and mature growth coniferous trees in closed, dry forests.

Much ant foraging occurs in potential berry habitats. Tree canopy removal during logging, residential and recreational development, and wildfire all contribute to berry and ant habitat. Bears spend the day ant foraging while checking the availability of berries. Bears rely on ants more during periods of delayed berry ripening or periods of crop failures into September.

First berries

Bears began feeding on scattered early ripening of twinberries ( Lonicera spp.) and oval-leaf blueberry ( Vaccinium ovalifolium ) during the last two weeks of June. The shrub-dominated habitats along the Cheakamus River, Alta Lake Road, River of Golden Dreams, and Green Lake are active daily with bears.

Berries are not concentrated yet but their daily progression to ripening triggers bears to begin travelling through shrub and open forest habitats within residential areas. Berry ripening will progress with the sunny and warm weather. However, too much sun, leading to a potential drought this summer, could end the valley berry crop earlier. Berry phenology (development) is earlier for many species including important fall berries: high elevation huckleberry ( Vaccinium membranaceum ) and low elevation Sitka mountain-ash ( Sorbus sitchensis ) and red-osier dogwood ( Cornus stolonifera ). Cooler, wetter weather during summer and early fall would help stall berry crops until October.

Ant/Berry feeding keeps bears close to houses

Expect bear activity to remain high in the valley this summer. Some of the best ant and berry foraging habitats occur in corridors between houses and residential areas. Timbered outcrops, rock formations and old stumps and logs leftover from residential development are perfect for ant nesting. All shrub-dominated areas in Whistler yield berries of some species. They will be occupied by bears from now until early November.

Use caution when walking, jogging, biking, fishing, and picnicing. and running. Make frequent human noise – talking amongst a group or yelling out occasionally when alone. Bear bells do not necessarily alert the bear to your presence. In berry habitats keep dogs on a leash.

If you encounter a bear up close:

• Speak calmly and retreat slowly by turning away.

• Never run or scream.

If a bear approaches:

• Stand your ground and yell firmly.

• Wave your arms high and wide (big and aggressive).

If a bear attacks:

• Fight back hitting it in the face (nose).

• Do not play dead.

Black bear attacks are rare and none have occurred in Whistler.

CAUTION: Bear daybeds in residential areas

Bears are frequently sleeping within 50 metres of residences this spring and summer. Natural valley environs of hemlock-cedar forests have been urbanized through residential and recreational development to yield fragmented cover types of diverse structure – perfect for bears. Bears are finding patches of security in residential greenbelts and using them for bedding. Young bears will feed and bed near people to escape potential encounters with older bears.

Bears also may find cooler bed sites near people because more shade appears to exist in residential areas. Bears have been observed resting and sleeping for many hours during hot spells less than 50 metres from houses. Many residences are vacant, which means fewer disturbances to bears and greater success in avoiding older bears who may not want to venture close to human habitat.

Many bears continue to use natural bedding areas in timbered rock outcrops above houses. Those sites were natural bedding areas before development occurred.

If you have bears bedding nearby or know of a bed site near your home please call me. Bed sites are measured and their location plotted with a GPS. I have also been collecting hair samples (for DNA analysis) to determine bear identity. Over 400 bed sites have been surveyed in the Whistler Valley.

The next bear update column will discuss yearling bear activity from the spring bear count. Please continue to report bear activity. Bear activity should drop as the berries become available just because visual bear sightings are difficult in shrubby habitats.

Please be alert to bear activity near your home. If you are experiencing bear activity daily or even weekly do not leave windows and doors open . Do not leave or store garbage, recycling, or any organic materials in your vehicle or home. During hot weather smells from these attractants multiply and bears will enter homes and vehicles. Many homes and vehicles have been entered and damaged by bears this spring.

You may report bear sightings and daybed locations to me at 604-902-1660 or e-mail mallen_coastbear@direct.ca . If you have experienced aggressive bear behaviour, such as bears trying to access your residence (or looking in through doors or windows) or vehicle, please also call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-800-663-9453. Sorry, the number posted last week was out of date. The quicker the officers know about such aggressive behaviours the sooner more proactive actions can be taken.

Thanks to Pique Newsmagazine for sponsorship of this column.