Four crabapple trees outside a popular Canmore pub were picked clean of juicy fruit as part of continued efforts to prevent hungry bears jeopardizing their lives for an easy meal.
Four crabapple trees outside a popular Canmore pub were picked clean of juicy fruit as part of continued efforts to prevent hungry bears jeopardizing their lives for an easy meal.
Bow Valley WildSmart and Grizzly Paw volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty on Tuesday (Sept. 8) to combat the fruit tree/bear attractant problem in Canmore.
Tyler McClure has wanted to pick these crabapples ever since he saw them blossoming this spring about 30 metres from his office. McClure, who works with WildSmart as education and outreach coordinator, said by gleaning these fruit trees it's a proactive approach to solving a problem before it becomes a problem.
This year, 13 black bears have been relocated from the Canmore area; most after being attracted by fruit bearing trees and plants in residential yards.
Wildlife experts say a relocated bear has its survival odds slashed in half when it is released back into the wild and a new territory.
The small red fruit outside of the buzzing Main Street establishment was harvested for the very first time and will be used for various recipes, but the main purpose was to decrease food attractants in town.
“Access for one animal to one fruit tree is too much, and we've seen that over the last week. We've seen bears removed and we'll probably continue to see bears removed and this is a big reason for that,” said McClure.
For local black and grizzly bears, a poor buffalo berry crop this year has the bruins in search of other food sources to plump up during hyperphagia - their extreme eating phase. Buffalo berries are the most important vegetation food source for local bear populations and the poor season makes a tree full of ripening fruit more tempting.
The Town of Canmore doesn't have a bylaw to restrict fruit bearing trees and plants at single home dwellings. Instead, the Town is trying to deal with the issue by taking the public education and community engagement route.
“Bylaws may be a solution down the road, but I think we want to try to exhaust other potential ideas before we get to the point of just enforcing of fruit trees,” McClure said.
Going forward, McClure agrees that this initiative will have to rely heavily on community involvement and support. He says there have been talks about forming a volunteer group that helps pick the fruit from trees and plants in the future.
“We're hoping to see more of this (fruit picking) happening on private properties throughout town where community members are getting together; maybe WildSmart is helping out with fruit picks,” McClure said.
“We really need to avoid turning this into a problem of people who own fruit trees, this just isn't one person problem or a certain few problem. This is a problem for all of us, and for all of the bears here in the valley.”
Some of the picked crabapples will be mixed into a cask and cracked open this Friday (Sept. 11) at the Grizzly Paw Pub, says Kristina Cardinale, sales and marketing manager.
“We currently have a summer partnership with WildSmart where a portion of our beer sales actually go back to WildSmart to help fund summer programing and education efforts here in town,” Cardinale said.
Cardinale added the company doesn't have any plans to chop down the fruit trees at a later date.
For more information on living with wildlife or a list on local fruit trees and plants, please go to wildsmart.ca.
