1,700 nuisance bear calls prompt committee to find answers

Nuisance bears accounted for 1,700 calls to police this past summer in Sudbury and now a a special committee of experts hopes to find a solution to the city's black bear problem.

The city was overrun by bears searching for food in homes and at campsites and police received five years' worth of nuisance bear calls in a single summer.

Two bears broke into a woman's home because it smelled like baking.

A teenager came face to face with a bear while walking home at night and the bear gave chase.

Bears were even found going through camp kids' lunches.

Local police had to shoot and kill eight bears this year.

It's thought that a bad blueberry crop sent hundreds of black bears roaming through Sudbury's streets in search of food.

"It has forced us to sit down and take a look at how we're going to deal with these issues going forward," Coun. Al Sizer said.

Bear experts, from police to bear policy analysts, have assembled in Sudbury to look at possible solutions.

The committee is considering a bylaw to keep garbage off the curb at night and asking the province to help fund bear-proofing measures next spring.

"I'm glad it's time for them to go to sleep," Sizer said of upcoming hibernation.

Trevor Griffin, the Sudbury district manager for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, applauded the community's work in handling all the calls this year.

"Under the circumstances, everyone did the best they could in terms of responding," Griffin said. "There were certainly some areas we've identified for improvement, mainly around communications, I think. Whether that's between the city, police and ourselves."

Griffin said the committee is looking at better ways to message the public, in terms of who to call and when to call when a bear is spotted.

"Whether or not just seeing a bear in a neighbourhood is really a reason to call at all," he said. "I think we do need to remember that being in northern Ontario, there always will be bears."

In the meantime, citizens can check the MNRF website for it's "Report a Bear Problem" page of advice and tips.