Conservation inspector weighs in on what to do when encountering an aggressive bear

The tragic death of a 44-year-old woman in northern Saskatchewan last week has brought attention to just how dangerous bears can be.

Stephanie Blais was attacked and killed by a black bear on Thursday at her family’s cabin on McKie Lake near Buffalo Narrows.

Steve Dobko is a conservation inspector in Saskatchewan. He says in most cases a bear will detect people before they see the animal and will move out of the area to avoid the people.

“Bears are ruled by their stomachs. They are intelligent animals and if they can’t find food, they’re going to look for food,” said Dobko. “So commonly when we interact or we run into conflict, they’re just trying to find food.”

That was not the case in the attack on Blais. Her father, Hubert Esquirol, told 650 CKOM that they’re an outdoors family who would never leave any food around or give a bear a reason to stay around.

Esquirol said before the attack on his daughter, they had never experienced any angry bears and the bears would always run away if there was an encounter.

Esquirol also said a conservation officer told him the bear was unprovoked in the attack and wasn’t hungry. The conservation officer told him the bear’s stomach was found full of berries.

Dobko says bear encounters are common in Saskatchewan and the animals are becoming more habituated.

“If we leave out garbage in our yards, obviously that’s a source that might attract them. There are several ways to reduce the likelihood of bears becoming habituated in our yards,” said Dobko.

He says storing things out of the way is important. Dobko says it’s common in rural Saskatchewan that a bear may wander through a yard. He says things like bird feeders that scatter seeds on the ground will attract bears, as will fruit trees.

Dobko says if a person does encounter a bear, there are a few things to remember.

“Stay calm. You don’t want to run from the bear. You don’t want to make a loud noise to try to scare the bear away. Just simply try to make a wide detour and calmly back out of the area the way you came,” said Dobko. “Sometimes you can speak in low tones so the bear understands who you are.”

He says as a person leaves the area, they should look for a tree or a rock — something they can get between themselves and the bear. In most cases, the bear will just wander off or watch the person leave the area.

“In situations where the bear is a little more curious, or he’s not leaving, or following you, as a last resort you can drop articles of clothing such as a jacket or a hat and that will commonly distract the bear,” said Dobko.

He says while bears are more apt to just be curious, they can sometimes manifest behaviour that’s aggressive and that should be something that would alert people.

“They might start pacing back and forth and clicking their teeth. If you see that, the bear is getting a little irritated and if you see that, you should be aware to give the bear its space and move out of the area,” said Dobko.

Dobko estimates there are 43,000 bears in Saskatchewan. He says this year has been a very busy one for bear-related calls; conservation officers have received more than 1,000 calls since the beginning of April.

Dobko says because bears are so common in the province, there’s no need to report it if a person sees one of the animals.

“If a bear is repeatedly coming into your yard, if a bear is repeatedly doing damage in your community, or if you have an aggressive encounter with a bear, you’ll want to contact your local conservation officer or your Ministry of Environment office,” said Dobko.