Bear and cubs euthanized in Calgary’s Griffith Woods Park

Four bears have been captured and euthanized in Calgary’s southwest community of Discovery Ridge.

This comes after Griffith Woods Park was shut down for days due to bear activity. After a month of getting almost daily calls about a black bear sow and three cubs in the area, Alberta Fish and Wildlife says it made the decision to capture and put the animals down Oct. 28.

At first, the reports were just sightings, but as time went on, Calgarians told Fish and Wildlife officials the bears were using garbage as a source of food.

“The bears were heavily food-conditioned, and had been spotted getting into garbage for over four weeks. Food-conditioned bears associate people with food, which poses a serious risk to public safety as the association of people with food can lead to people being hurt by hungry bears,” a statement from Fish and Wildlife reads.

The agency says it didn’t make the choice to euthanize the bears lightly, but believes it was the right thing to do. That decision isn’t sitting well with everyone.

Karen Lee, a clinical psychologist, says there was no need to put the bears down.

“Those bears were killed, they were murdered because people got a little antsy that there were bears in their neighbourood,” Lee said, adding the cubs could have been saved.

“Those bears can be moved and at least the cubs can be raised somewhere else. Because we’ve had examples of abandoned cubs whose mothers have been killed on a railway tracks in Banff National Park. Well, they don’t kill those cubs. So why are they doing it here?”

Several factors led to the decision

Fish and Wildlife says after evaluating the situation and in accordance with the black bear response guide, the bruins were euthanized. Officials say several factors led to the decision to put down the bears rather than taking other options, such as relocating them.

The city councillor who represents the area, Richard Pootmans, says they are looking into the incident.

“Its all very sad of course, we’ve lost four bears and our office is trying to discover exactly what the next steps should be, likely the discussion involving Fish and Wildlife, Waste and Recycling, and bylaw officers. I think all three are going to have to participate in the discussion. Can we customize bylaws for a particular neighbourhood? The original answer is no, it has to be on a city-wide basis. So, this will have some complexity, but of course in the past few days we have beginning to learning more about bylaws and bears,” he said.

Officials say as the weather gets colder, bears look for more food to prepare for hibernation, sometimes travelling into human-populated areas to do so.

Fish and Wildlife says to keep both people and bears safe you should:

• Store garbage in bear-resistant and odour-proof containers or buildings until it can be removed from your property
• Any possible attractants should be cleaned up and removed as soon as possible, if not immediately, to avoid habituation of bears and other wildlife
• Pet food should never be left outside or stored in areas accessible to bears
• Bird feeders should not be used between April 1 and November 30
• Residents should clean barbecues and outdoor eating areas after use
• Smokehouses and animal carcasses, including bones, hides and waste, should be stored in bear-resistant buildings well away from people
• Gardens and fruit-bearing trees or shrubs also attract bears, and should be properly maintained or removed
• Residents should consider using an indoor composter
• Aerate outdoor compost piles frequently and cover these with soil or lime
• Do not put meat, fish, oils and milk products in the compost pile

If you spot a bear or other wild animal that can be a threat to public safety, call the 24-hour Report a Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800.

For more information, visit the province’s website.