There are black bears on all the NS mountains right now. There have been numerous reports on Grouse from hikers as well of a mother and cub or cubs. It’s just a fact of life on the North Shore and people just need to educate themselves and get used to how to deal. @Dave Smith seems to have the right idea: Black bears are naturally somewhat curious but generally just want to be left alone and if you have a similar attitude and stay out of their way / let them know when you accidentally get close by talking to them in an even tone of voice then we can co-exist fine. However, this is not the time to be bringing your dog with you to the mountains because they could antagonize a bear and cause an aggressive response.
That said, black bears that come down into the city itself and start eating garbage will inevitably have to be put down because once they consider human food their food they can get territorial about their food source which inevitably leads to aggressive behaviour, especially in the spring or fall months when food becomes more scarce.
(Sorry, triple posted due to slow upload on my phone).
Oct. 5, 2019, 8:22 a.m. - Brad_xyz
There are black bears on all the NS mountains right now. There have been numerous reports on Grouse from hikers as well of a mother and cub or cubs. It’s just a fact of life on the North Shore and people just need to educate themselves and get used to how to deal. @Dave Smith seems to have the right idea: Black bears are naturally somewhat curious but generally just want to be left alone and if you have a similar attitude and stay out of their way / let them know when you accidentally get close by talking to them in an even tone of voice then we can co-exist fine. However, this is not the time to be bringing your dog with you to the mountains because they could antagonize a bear and cause an aggressive response. That said, black bears that come down into the city itself and start eating garbage will inevitably have to be put down because once they consider human food their food they can get territorial about their food source which inevitably leads to aggressive behaviour, especially in the spring or fall months when food becomes more scarce. (Sorry, triple posted due to slow upload on my phone).