The number of wildlife interactions and conflicts are down considerably this year, both in the Alberni Valley and on the west coast.
In Alberni, reports of bears to the Conservation Officer Service and the Wildlife Alert Reporting Program is down by more than two thirds from 275 in 2019 to 90 this year, and Cougar reports decreased by half from 57 to 29.
Alberni Valley wildlife community coordinator Amira Strain says a bumper crop of berries kept black bears out of town.
“Since they are omnivores a lot of their diet consists of salmon, plants and berries,” she said. “This year was a very plentiful year for berries, so that would have given them access to lots of food early in the season.”
On the west coast, bear calls were down more than 70% from 143 to 40, and reported conflicts down from 13 to 2.
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