Welcoming by Nature might be a slogan of the municipality, but residents of a Lac La Biche County subdivision are feeling that nature is getting a little too close.
Bears have been posing concerns for residents of La La Biche County's Lakeview Estates over the last week. Several reports have come in to the local Fish and Wildlife office of black bears roaming the neighbourhood — with some coming up onto decks and patios of homes in the rural subdivision of about 300 people.
"This bear is not afraid of human contact," Lakeview Estates resident Heather Stromquist told the POST last Friday after spending a week dealing with a large black sow that she says has set up a den for at least two small bear cubs just a few hundred feet from her home.
The bear regularly comes toward the Stomquist home and surrounding neighbours.
Fish and Wildlife officers did put out at least one bear trap last week in an effort to trap the bear, but the traps were later removed.
Stromquist thinks the mother bear is one of several now in their neighbourhood.
'Our bear" as she calls it, has already smashed bird feeders and bird baths and rummaged in the family's compost pile looking for food. The animal has even found a spot for itself in the yard beside the family's trampoline. The Stromquist's dogs have chased the bear away from the house a few times — but recently, the animal has ignored attempts to get it to leave the yard. Which is troubling to the homeowner.
"We have seen bears out here before. We're in the country," said Stromquist who has lived in the neighbourhood about five kilometres north of downtown Lac La Biche for 23 years, "but normally, you can scare them off and they don't come back ... but this bear is a dangerous bear now."
Underlining the fear, which Stomquist admits can leave residents coming face to face with the animal "a little bit petrified," a recent encounter was more like a scene from a horror movie.
Speaking to her husband inside their home about the bear a few evenings ago, she said she caught a glimpse of something outside the dark patio window.
"It was dark out and something just moved. I got closer and then just saw the eyes. In the dark, through the window, you can't see the rest of it. It was very weird just looking at this face looking at me, just inches away," she said, explaining that the animal has her family very nervous.
"We don't leave a window open, the barbecue is off the deck... we stopped putting any compost out," said Stomquist, adding that the weekly family walk around the neighbourhood still goes ahead, but their senses are on high alert and they carry bear-bangers. "Like other residents, we're worried about the kids and the pets. We walk our kids to their vehicles and when our daughter comes in from work, we escort her into the house ... It's like we are under house arrest."
The Stromquist's home is on the outside perimeter of the subdivision, but many other residents inside the community have posted on a neighbiourhood social media site about their own issues. Many have uploaded images and videos of black bears on their property. Some have even suggested partial solutions and their own reasons for the increase in animal activity.
"We began to have problems after the new garbage receptacle system came into place. That could be a mere coincidence; however, we need to recognize that those County bins definitely contribute to the problem ..." said long-time Lakeview resident Zanra Gargus-Lind told the POST. "One — All the garbage is set out at the same time Wednesday morning, creating a smorgasbord of smells for our bears, (and) Two — The containers are designed for urban waste management, not rural. They have flip lids and are light plastic and are on wheels. They are extremely easy to tip over and get into for bears."
Gargus-Lind also commented on the choice of rural residents to live in areas where wildlife is prominent. She realizes that residents must share the land — but recent encounters are not typics.
"As a subdivision we are not over-reacting, and neither are we all a bunch of newbie city people who don’t know how to live with animals. ... I have lived in this subdivision for 29 years and have never seen this degree of bear activity before. This year we have multiple bears, a bold bear, multiple cubs within a few miles, and bears that have turned into garbage bears and have settled into the neighbourhood, she said. "I look forward to working in my yard each spring and don’t consider myself a scaredy cat, but this spring you won’t find me out in my yard. The bears wander throughout the peninsula day and night. "
Residents have contacted Fish and Wildlife officials locally and other agencies in the region.
The POST did contact the local Fish and Wildlife office, the provincial department of Environment and Parks, and the Solicitor General's department for wildlife enforcement on Friday of last week, but had not heard back from any of them by POST press deadline. Lac La Biche Protective Services supervisor Chris Clark said the department was aware of the issue, but said it falls outside of the municipal mandate.
"Our bylaws only pertain to domestic animals," said Clark, "not to wildlife."
Stromquist hopes that more can be done — before the situation gets worse.
"I would like a solution before someone is injured or killed — or a family pet, " she said. "We've got kids waiting for buses, lots of young families ... something has to be done."
Stromquist reported that local Fish and Wildlife officers had installed two bear traps near her home late Friday afternoon. As of Sunday night, neither trap had caught a bear.
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