A person has been charged by Parks Canada after a black bear gained access to their food. Bears, according to experts, rarely survive once given access to human food, and can even begin to associate humans with food., and can lead to more human-wildlife conflicts.
Parks Canada says a camper at Rampart Creek Campground left their food next to their tent along the ice fields parkway, in a bag that was marketed as bear resistant.
After getting into the food, the bear reportedly “contacted” the tent while no one was in it.
Even while using bear resistant equipment, food should always be hung in a tree, at the recommended height for the campground.
“When camping in Banff National Park, all scented items, including food and hygiene products, must be stored in a vehicle or in the bear-proof storage locks provided to prevent wildlife from accessing food,” stated the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay unit in a release.
Wardens investigated the campsite and charged the camper with not properly maintaining the site and camping on public land in violation of a permit, meaning the person could face a fine of up to $25,000.
In June, black bears had also gained access to food near Lake Minnewanka and got into multiple unoccupied tents. An area closure was enacted, but more incidents were reported in late July.
UPDATE:
An Australian man plead guilty today at the Canmore Court of Justice, and apologized for his actions on August 4th, which included camping without a permit, and accidentally feeding a black bear. The man acknowledged “a fed bear is a dead bear”.
The Federal Crown had come out to say the man self-reported the incident, and if he hadn’t, it could have potentially gone unnoticed.
The bag the man was using was an Ursack bear-resistant bag, which the 28-year-old Australian said he had used in Alaska and northern B.C.
Based on the agreed upon facts, a fine of $600 was agreed to, a far cry from the potential $25,000 a person can face.
Rampart Creek campground remains under a bear warning, and is currently closed for tent camping.
Comments