Be aware of the bears

Cochrane residents are fortunate to live in a beautiful area filled with wildlife. This means we must be aware of the steps needed to be taken to cohabitate safely with the wild animals. If you have any questions you can call Fish and Wildlife at 403-932-2388. Or click here.

There have been numerous bear sightings in Cochrane over the past few weeks and we must be mindful of them and ensure that we are not inadvertently feeding them.

This is the time of year that the bears are foraging for food before hibernating and they will do this between April 1 and November 30. That means they still have a few weeks to fatten up and will be busy doing so. For both their safety and ours we must not tempt them with human food. Here are some tips that will help with that:

• practice being BearSmart at home like you should in the backcountry
• remove your bird feeders and clean up any seed up left on the ground
• if you have fruit trees and fruit on the ground clean it up...(The Cochrane Ecological Institute will take donations of excess fruit)
• clean up the bbq and grease trap 
• keep compost indoors
• put waste, recycling, and organics carts out in the morning, not at night

If you have a concerning encounter with a bear or other animals that may be a public safety concern you are asked to call the 24-hour Report a Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800.