The natural resources ministry is getting reports of aggressive bears in human neighbourhoods this fall. One in particular is in Iroquois Falls, where it’s said a bear charged towards a person walking their dog.
Micheline Mamome is the MNRF provincial coordinator for human-wildlife management. She says this is the last hurrah for bears to fatten up before hibernation, and they’re attracted to garbage, pet food and fruit. She adds that a bear’s sense of smell is seven times as powerful as that of a bloodhound.
“If we look at the biology of a bear, they have an amazing nose,” she remarks, “it’s filled with scent receptors that are able to pick up on food miles away.”
The boldness of a bear, Mamone says, is just telling you and your dog to back off and give it more space.
“If people are walking their dogs off-leash and a dog goes and chases a bear and harasses that bear, that bear might turn around and then chase the dog, because it considers that dog a threat.”
The same message is in what Mamone calls “bluff charges”, huffing and jaw-poppimg as defensive displays.
There’s more in our interview posted below, including when and why you should call the Bear Wise phone line.
