It’s no picnic — bears have been appearing in HRM looking for food.
Bears were spotted three times around Tantallon on Monday alone, according to police.
While such sightings are not uncommon, the unusually high number of run-ins this year with the majestic beasts has caused police to put out a warning to citizens.
“We’ve received numerous calls over the past couple weeks about bears,” said Halifax RCMP spokesman Corp. Joe Taplin.
“And I guess the thing is we want people to become bear-wise. Because as housing moves into the rural areas, like subdivisions, the bears are more apt to come into the subdivisions and look for food.”
Taplin said black bear spottings seem to be happening earlier because the weather has been warmer.
RCMP and provincial natural resource’s staff recommend people avoid leaving out any food that could attract the noble yet puckish animals.
This means storing garbage in waste containers with tight-fitting lids and only putting it out the morning of pickup, cleaning barbecue grills and grease traps after each use, cleaning out food cans before throwing them in the garbage and keeping pet food inside.
Even having a bird feeder in your yard can be an attraction for them.
Spotted
• Other than Tantallon, the most common areas for bear sightings have been the Prestons, Lake Echo, Mineville and Westville.
