A train bridge inside Little Red River Park. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

Multiple Sightings

P.A. area sees an increase in bears

Jul 7, 2020 | 2:56 PM

On Friday, the City of Prince Albert alerted the public about bear sightings at the Little Red River Park.

City of P.A. Parks Manager Tim Yeaman said the sighting was of a sow and two cubs.

On a Facebook post the city advised the public to be aware while at the park.

Brett Diemert, inspector with the Conservation Officer Service in Prince Albert told paNOW this time of these occurrences are common.

“Most of the bears people are seeing moving right now are probably juvenile bears,” he said.

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He explained bear cubs spend their first summer with the sow before being on their own the following spring,.

“They’re out wandering around trying to find their own little piece of the world so it’s quite common to see a number of bears this time of year as those bears move around,” Diemert said.

He said the population of bears within the province is very healthy and is strong. This time of year, they are out trying to find everything they can to eat for the small window of time they have until they go into hibernation.

If someone were to encounter a bear, Diemert urges them to stay calm and don’t run. Make a wide detour and calmly back away, speak in low tones and don’t look directly at the bear. It is also important to never feed or approach a bear, especially cubs.

“Remember she’s just trying to protect her cubs, so we want to stay away from that,” he added.

It helps to have something between the person and the bear such as a big rock or a tree. Or as a last resort to leave a backpack or a hat as a distraction to leave the area.

“In some cases, they might threaten but they very seldom ever do they attack,” he explained. “Don’t play dead. The old adage about playing dead isn’t good, fight if you have to if you’re ever attacked.”

Diemert said they have experienced an increase in calls about bears this year and isn’t surprising because of the increase in bears in the area. He explained the population increase is the result of “a few good years.”

As people he said the public can address encounters with bears by reducing food source such as removing bird feeders, maintaining garbage responsibly, not leaving pet food outside and emptying grease buckets from smokers and barbeques.

“If they can do that, it will go a long way for us in managing those bear and human conflicts,” he said.

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ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca