Two stories within the Outlook pages this week illustrate two different aspects of the fruit trees in town issue.
First and foremost (page 25) is the story of a group that quickly sprang into action in removing a fruit tree in their yard which resulted in yet another black bear being relocated out of our valley.
A couple of weeks ago in this space, we suggested it might be time for the Town of Canmore to institute a bylaw to have fruit bearing/bear attracting trees and shrubs removed – possibly through a tree trade program.
That wouldn’t be necessary, of course, if more homeowners took it upon themselves to remove bear attracting trees. In the case of the recent crabapple bear, the tree removal was too late, but at least said tree won’t attract any more bears.
We think kudos are in order not only for the people that quickly removed the crabapple that attracted the bear last week, but also to the owners of the home that allowed it.
The black bear removed on Aug. 29 after not being able to resist the sweet offerings of a crabapple tree joined a sow and two cubs moved the week before – after the trio twice crossed the Bow River in an effort to begin bulking up before winter.
These bears in particular, the sow and her cubs, probably illustrate the problem of fruit trees in town more than any other incident. With sweet, juicy apples available, and fall and winter approaching, the sow and her youngsters braved the rushing Bow twice in attempts to fill up on apples.
Clearly, the draw of a free meal of apples was simply irresistible.
And before anyone thinks we at the Outlook have anything against homeowners who allow fruit trees to grow in their yards, we don’t. We can appreciate the time and effort some homeowners put into pruning, watering, fertilizing and caring for their trees.
But if we want to share our valley with bears, the only option is to remove these temptations.
… which brings us to the issue (page 1) of black bears being removed from numerous locations in the Canmore area.
We find it disturbing that Fish and Wildlife have removed a dozen black bears from the vicinity in the few months they’ve been out of their dens.
The fact that a dozen bears have been re-located, with wildlife managers knowing their chance of survival elsewhere is very low, again illustrates how serious the issue of bear attracting fruit trees is.
This situation obviously falls within the “a fed bear is a dead bear” saying. In the case of a bear being shipped out of town, and unlikely to survive in another bear’s territory, it doesn’t matter if said bear was being fed a hamburger at a roadside, finding garbage in a campground, or eating apples or berries in a back yard.
The end result will often, disastrously, be the end of the bear’s life.
Judging by what has clearly been a steady stream of bears being removed from the valley, with their future in jeopardy, we would join area wildlife managers in encouraging owners to quickly remove, if not fruit trees themselves, at least the tempting fruit from them. A fruit tree could be left in place as a shade tree, but homeowners should remove fruit early, before it becomes an irresistible temptation.
