Editor:
The almost total berry crop failure this summer has resulted in undernourished bears looking for food wherever they can find it. Banff and Canmore have conducted a rather thorough campaign to remove fruit trees and berry bushes that could attract bears into town.
Last week a black bear seemed to be attracted to our neighbourhood by a big white food scrap storage bin. It did not try to get in, but it definitely hung around it.
I don't have a very good nose, but on a warm day I can smell these bins as I walk by.
Hopefully, someone is monitoring bear activity in town to see if these food bins are an attractant to bears, or just a curiosity that hopefully they cannot open.
It is still some time to hibernation, if the bears get really stressed, perhaps intercept feeding might be a partial solution.
Rick Kunelius,
Banff
