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Bears, Blueberries, a Battleground? Part One© Bob Ewing
Jun 4, 1999
As we move out of an extremely nasty, I thought it was going to snow, week into a true late Spring day, warm and windy, the first black bears are making their way into the city's outskirts. The bears are hungry and as this year's spring bear hunt was canceled by the provincial government temporarily safe from predators. They are free to roam searching for food. It is too early for the blueberries they love so the city and its garbage is a serious attraction. Every year the city police kill a few bears that have wandered into town searching for food. The policy is that bears will only be shot if they are presenting a threat to humans. Last week a police officer, shot and wounded a bear which escaped and has not yet been found.
The bears are only following their nose and instinct. We've raised a city on their territory and now they pay the price for foraging. Bears are not the only creature with a love for blueberries. They are highly prised here and the supply, while plentiful, is not enough to share between bears and humans, especially when you consider that humans gorge themselves and offer the bears unfair competition. We can buy commercial berries direct from the farmer. The bears have to rely on what they find in the wild.
I'm not opposed to blueberry picking but I suggest people follow the same rules as when they are out wildcrafting. Take only a small percentage of what you find, leave the rest behind for others, especially the bears.
If you approach your interaction with wild food with a sense of place, of knowing where you are and you role within the ecosystem you are inhabiting, you will open your eyes to the wonders that surround you and while living in the moment you will be preparing the future.
BE CONCERNED! Terminator Terminator2
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