Fort McMurray bears slowly returning to wilderness

After the Beast brought black bears out of the boreal forest and onto the streets of Fort McMurray, experts say the animals are slowly returning to the wilderness.

Bear safety concerns were heightened in the northern Alberta city after a massive wildfire breached city limits in early May, forcing thousands of people to flee for their lives.

The animals were also forced to flee the flames, as an ever-growing expanse of boreal forest was incinerated.

And as the evacuation period stretched from days into weeks, thousands of kilograms of garbage were left to rot in the temporary ghost town, making for easy scavenging for the hungry animals, just as their winter hibernation came to an end.

• Black bears scavenging empty Fort McMurray

Twelve black bears have been captured in the Wood Buffalo area since the fire. Wildlife officers have been forced to kill nine of them, due to habituation to human food sources.

"Unfortunately many bears that our officers encounter are food-conditioned beyond the point of no return, but it is a difficult decision for them to make," said Brendan Cox, spokesman for the province's Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Branch.

"But I think the residents of Fort McMurray can rest easy knowing that we have the bear situation under control." 

Cox says the numbers are largely on par with those seen in the region in previous years.

In 2015, four black bears were destroyed and nine relocated. In 2014, seven were destroyed and 16 relocated.

"I think what we're seeing is increased reporting," said Cox.

"This is something that has been reported on a lot more than usual this year, so with more people reading about the bears, people are more apt to call this in to the officers."

The Fort McMurray area has always been bear country. Cox says residents' concerns have merely been heightened by the evacuation.

"The Fort McMurray area is always one of the busiest regions for bear activity every years, it's not just this year. That area is some of the best habitat we have for black bears, so there will always be black bear concerns in that area."

• Wildlife officers trapping bears after stinky trash in fire-damaged Fort McMurray

Even in the neighbourhoods that remained abandoned, municipal crews have gone in to clean up whatever garbage remained behind.  

Traps have been set in neighbourhoods where bear sightings have been reported, and residents are being reminded to exercise caution in wooded areas.

Dan LeGrandeur, a wildlife conflict specialist with Beaumont-based Bear Scare Ltd., said he isn't surprised by the increased number of bear reports. Bear Scare teaches non-lethal methods of resolving conflicts between humans and wildlife.

"If anything I would have thought the numbers would have been higher, but I know Fish and wildlife have put an extreme amount of effort into helping mitigate the conflicts in town," LeGrandeur said.

The rain has been a big help, not only for human residents of the city, but for hungry bears in the area, he said.

"Some areas of the burnt forest will get regeneration very quickly so the bears will have the new grasses, and certainly some of the berry-producing bushes come back very quickly.

"In areas where the fire was very hot the soil may be so sterile, it may take a few years for the forest to come back, but the moisture we had in the last couple weeks was certainly good timing," said LeGrandeur.

"It certainly could have been a lot worse if things had stayed as dry as they were."