Bears are starting to bulk up to prepare for their winter hibernation. (submitted photo/Ministry of Environment.)

By Nick Nielsen

Sask bear population in good standing

Encounters with bears more likely as they prepare for winter

Aug 13, 2024 | 5:00 PM

The black bear population in Saskatchewan is starting to prepare for winter hibernation, and that means they could be on the move a little more in the next few months. The Ministry of Environment is urging the public to be aware that bears are on the move searching for food, which will bring them out in the open more often.

Matthew Tokaruk is the black bear biologist for the Ministry of Environment, and he said that while blueberries are in season for people to pick now, that can also be a hot spot for black bears to show up.

“Right now, bears are really thinking about finding a lot of food and packing on the pounds for hibernation. It’s an important time for bears. They’re trying to eat upwards of 20,000 calories a day starting now and through September, so it’s a really big deal for them.”

At this time of year, blueberries are at their ripest which means they become a main food source for black bears. If berry picking, or any other activity, takes you into bear territory, Tokaruk said there are a few easy things you can do to keep you and yourself safe.

“It’s nice to walk in groups. If you’re out blueberry picking, go with some friends, make a little bit of noise, have some conversations and you’re picking it makes it more enjoyable anyway usually, and that lets bears and other wildlife know you’re in the area.”

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This is also the time of the year where we’ll start to see bear sightings further south than you normally would throughout the rest of the year. Black bear cubs tend to stay with their mothers for about two summers before they are encouraged to find their own space, and that can lead to black bears roaming further south than normal.

“They’re kind of the teenagers, those two-and-a-half year bears and they get booted from home, and when that happens, they can travel tremendous distances. They’re the ones that get in trouble, and they’re also the ones that end up in places we sometimes don’t expect bears because they’re covering big distances, looking for new territory, other food sources, just kind of wandering until they get set up.”

In most cases, a black bear encounter will end peacefully with the bear wandering off without much else happening since black bears don’t view humans as a food source. If a black bear does start to follow after you, Tokaruk said that bear mace should be the last option, but it is a necessary thing to have on hand.

“In the rare situation where that bear maybe starts to approach or isn’t leaving, make a wide detour, back away, think about where your vehicle is or perhaps just some cover, changes in topography. If you’re in the open country, if there’s a bluff of trees to kind of block the sight lines, look for that and again, that’s generally where an encounter will end. If that bear continues to approach, and again this is getting quite rare this would happen, then this is when you want to think about getting your bear spray ready. We do encourage folks to carry bear spray when you’re out hiking, berry picking, recreating in bear country, you name it, have your bear spray ready.”

Overall, the bear population in Saskatchewan is sitting at a fairly stable level. Because of the secluded nature of black bears, it’s hard for the province to do a proper population survey like other animals.

A lot of animal surveys in the province are done in the wintertime by plane, where snowy ground and the lack of leaves on the trees allows someone to fly over a certain area and count the species of animal they see. For black bears, hunters become the main source information about black bears in the province.

“The way we manage and monitor their populations is through our Hunter Harvest survey. So what we actually collect is hunter reports and the primary data source I look at is the composition of female bears in the overall harvest. As long as that stays in a particular range, we have a fairly good certainty that the black male population is doing fine.”

If you do end up in a case where bear mace is necessary, Tokaruk recommends aiming for the bear’s feet rather than directly at its face to make sure there is no chance for the bear to go underneath the stream. A bear was captured in Prince Albert city limits earlier this year before being rereleased back into the wild.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

@NickTheRadioGuy