Reports of bears ‘above average’ in Saskatchewan: province

The province is reminding people to keep their distance from bears.

Several stories have circulated in recent weeks showing tourists getting up close with bears in Canada.

Rich Hildebrand, a conservation officer with the province, said reports of bears have been above average this year.

“It just seems like right now there’s a fairly steady stream of reports of bears getting into things and garbage and encounters,” Hildebrand said.

Over the Canada Day long weekend, a black bear was spotted trying to enter a bakery in Waskesiu after a batch of cinnamon buns came out of the oven.

The bear had reportedly made off with macaroni salad from the bakery’s outdoor cooler a few days earlier.

Hildebrand noted in early summer, bears are out searching for different food sources as berries have not yet ripened.

He added there are only black bears in the province, but sometimes they can also look honey-coloured or blond.

The conservation officer advises people not to play dead, but to walk backwards slowly away when encountering a bear and to talk in a low steady voice.

Bears have even been spotted in and around Saskatoon; however, Hildebrand said sightings have slowed.

“In the Saskatoon area, it seems like the reports have levelled off a bit or stopped altogether in the past few weeks,” Hildebrand said.

On May 30, a black bear climbed up a tree on Miners Avenue and had to be tranquilized.

Conservation officers working to remove the bear later learned the animal was not responding well to the tranquilizer. The bear subsequently died.

Hildebrand also mentioned another case this year where a bear was trapped for wandering too close to Saskatoon to check in on a local beehive.