63 bears destroyed in Yukon this year because of human conflict

Reports of conflict between humans and bears in Yukon hit a five-year high in 2017, according to the territorial government, with at least 63 of the animals being killed this year.

Thatmay be the highest number of dead bears since at least 2012, when the territorial government estimated56 troublesome bears were killed in Yukon. Last year, an estimated28 bears were destroyed.

• 'Shift in behaviour' needed in Yukon to avoid bears being killed, says wildlife group

• Wildlife officials seem 'busier than normal' with bears around Whitehorse

The Department of the Environment compiled numbers from the last six years to better understand the issue, but acknowledged that data collection has been inconsistent over the years.

"We decided it would be beneficial to look at our historical data from 2012, right across Yukon," said Aaron Koss-Young, a human-wildlife conflict officer with Environment Yukon.

According to that data, black bear conflicts are far more common in Yukon than grizzly conflicts for example, this year there were an estimated 168 reports of black bear conflicts, compared to 38 grizzly encounters.

Black bear encounters also vary more from year to year, with 92 conflicts in 2016 compared to 192 in 2012. The number of grizzly conflicts has been slightly more consistent, ranging from about 38 this year, to 59 in 2015.

Yukon conservation officers killed the majorityof bears this year (39). The rest were killed by Yukoners, acting "in defense of life and property," according to the government.

Not all problem bears are killed the government says 10problem bears were re-located this year. Destroying a bear is considered a "last resort," according to conservation officers.

Garbage eaters

Wildlife officials also crunched the numbers to figure out what's behind all the human-bear conflicts.

The results were hardly a surprise.

"Yukon-wide, the biggestattractant remains garbage.Secondly, human foods like meat caches and smokehouses," Koss-Youngsaid.

• Garbage-eating bear killed in Whitehorse subdivision

The numbers also show that bears are intopets, chicken coops, campgrounds and compost piles.

"It gave us an idea of what the key attractants are, and it gave us an idea of where we should focus our resources and time," Koss-Young said.

"Bears are getting into garbage in this community, and we should take measures to try and work at reducing it by implementing better waste management practices."

Geoff Quinsey, waste manager for the City of Whitehorse, agrees that it's helpful to have some data to work with.

"Dedicating staff to working full time on human-wildlife conflict is new, as far as I'm aware within the territory, within my lifetime.So I want toreally celebrate the fact that the Yukon government has made that investment," he said.

"Where we put our focus is going to be defined by where we see the biggest opportunity and where the most conflicts have occurred historically."

Changing behaviour

One ideathat's been talked about in Whitehorse is for the city to invest in bear-proof garbage cans for residential use.

Heather Ashthorn ofWildwise Yukon, a local non-profit that works to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, says that hasn't happened yet, "for a number of reasons, part of it is cost."

Her organization has gone door-to-door in several Yukon communities, to talk to residentsabout controlling bear attractants. She says the reception was generally positive, "but that doesn't mean they changed what they were doing."

"Some of the negative [bear] encounters within the city had happened after we had talked to people directly. So that in itself was informativeunfortunate, but informative. It helps us understand where it's valuable for us to put our energy," shesaid.

And it's not just residents, according to Ashthornvisitors may also cause problems. Last summer, Wildwiseworked with some First Nations on a public education campaign to discourage roadside feeding of bears.

• Stop feeding and gawking at roadside bears, Yukon groups urge

• 'Shift in behaviour' needed in Yukon to avoid bears being killed, says wildlife group

"Tourism may contribute to habituation and food conditioning of bears," Ashthorn said. "For example, if tour operators are depending on bear viewing for part of their income, or if tourists independently travelling up and down the road don't know about habituation and food conditioning.

"There's a lot of finger pointing, we know that ... probably what the reality is, we're all contributing to the problem a little bit."