The trails at Maplewood Flats are currently closed. At the time of posting, Sunday October 4th at 4:30pm, a bear was seen as recently as 1pm on site. The Nursery is still open on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and staff are still on site.
We are closing the trails to reduce the amount of human-bear contact during the critical feeding time for black bears, before hibernation begins.
Since mid-November, there has been a lot of black bear activity in at Maplewood Flats. This parallels what is happening across the entire region and into the states- a low berry and salmon year is creating increasing pressure on bears to find food before winter. Bears that find themselves in “human spaces” have been killed.
As of this week (October 4th) there has been sightings of five unique black bears on site, multiple times a day (a solo juvenile, solo adult and mother with two cubs). They have been spotted outside buildings, in the barge channel and parking lot. So far, all individuals have been respectful, “good” bears, and have moved away from human voices – or in the case of the juvenile, when the leaf blower got turned on.
Here at the Flats, we can be a place for these bears to be – somewhere they can stock up on food and not be in human territory. In a way, it is a good sign that they are here. For the time being – because of the density of trails and people on site, we are closing the trails, giving these bears more of a chance to get fat before winter. We ask that all visitors remain bear aware, don’t bring dogs onto site (even on leash), and exercise caution.
If you have questions or would like to report a sighting, you can email help@wildbirdtrust.org. If you need immediate assistance, you can call the District Bear Line at 604-990-2327 or the non-emergency police line at 604-985-1311.
We are closing the trails to reduce the amount of human-bear contact during the critical feeding time for black bears, before hibernation begins.
Since mid-November, there has been a lot of black bear activity in at Maplewood Flats. This parallels what is happening across the entire region and into the states- a low berry and salmon year is creating increasing pressure on bears to find food before winter. Bears that find themselves in “human spaces” have been killed.
As of this week (October 4th) there has been sightings of five unique black bears on site, multiple times a day (a solo juvenile, solo adult and mother with two cubs). They have been spotted outside buildings, in the barge channel and parking lot. So far, all individuals have been respectful, “good” bears, and have moved away from human voices – or in the case of the juvenile, when the leaf blower got turned on.
Here at the Flats, we can be a place for these bears to be – somewhere they can stock up on food and not be in human territory. In a way, it is a good sign that they are here. For the time being – because of the density of trails and people on site, we are closing the trails, giving these bears more of a chance to get fat before winter. We ask that all visitors remain bear aware, don’t bring dogs onto site (even on leash), and exercise caution.
If you have questions or would like to report a sighting, you can email help@wildbirdtrust.org. If you need immediate assistance, you can call the District Bear Line at 604-990-2327 or the non-emergency police line at 604-985-1311.
