The amount of nuisance bear calls to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is higher this year compared to last year. So far this spring, the ministry has received 57 bear reports in the North Bay area compared to only 19 in 2016 during the same period. While it’s more than last year, the number is slightly lower than the 63 calls received by the ministry in 2015. Just last week a track and field meet at Almaguin Highlands Secondary School was cancelled because of a persistent bear on the track.
In the past the ministry has indicated food availability and natural population cycles are factors that contribute to the amount of bear occurrences from year to year. This is also the second year of an expanded spring bear hunt pilot project in Ontario, which has operated for two years in the Timmins, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay areas. The pilot was expanded in 2016 to include all 88 wildlife management units of the province. In the pilot’s first two years, it’s estimated that less than 500 black bears were harvested in the district annually.
