Bears have been sighted in the Grafton and Colborne areas.
After reports of black bear sightings in those areas, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is asking residents to be aware and to take the necessary steps to avoid attracting bears into local neighbourhoods.
Residents of the Grafton and Colborne areas have reported several interactions with black bears in the past few weeks. Of these reported incidents, most involved items such as bird feeders and garbage.
Bears are often attracted to things such as garbage, bird food including suet, seed and nectar, odours from barbecues and ripe fruit left on trees or on the ground. Removing these attractants can help keep bears out of the area.
Currently, natural foods for bears in this area are below average. When the availability of natural foods is limited, bears will look for alternative food sources, often in communities. When bears cannot gain access to non-natural foods such as garbage, they will not stay in the area.
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· If a bear poses an immediate threat to public safety and exhibits threatening or aggressive behaviour, call 911 or your local police.
· For advice on removing bear attractants, call the toll-free Bear Wise reporting line at 1-866-514-2327 (TTY 705-945-7641). This line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from April 1 to November 30.
· What to do in emergency and non-emergency situations: https://www.ontario.ca/page/prevent-bear-encounters-bear-wise . · Read more about bears at ontario.ca/bearwise.
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Peterborough District Office 705-755-2001 mnrf.pet@ontario.ca ontario.ca/natural-resources-news
