Bear sightings are on the rise as they search for food, especially blueberries. Most bears are simply traveling to those areas and may cross yards and roadways along the way. To prevent a bear from making a pit stop at your house, it's best to keep garbage and recycling properly secured in a bear-proof container or stored inside your house, garage, or shed.
🐻 Learn who to contact if you encounter a bear!
Call 911 or your local police if a bear poses an immediate threat to personal safety and exhibits threatening or aggressive behaviour, such as:
- Entering a school yard while school is in session
- Stalking people and lingering at a site
- Entering or trying to enter a residence
- Wandering into a public gathering
- Killing livestock/pets and lingering at the site
Police will respond first to an emergency situation, but may request assistance from the ministry during daylight hours.
Call the toll-free Bear Wise reporting line at 1-866-514-2327 or TTY 705-945-7461 in non-emergency situations, such as if a bear:
- Roams around or checks garbage cans
- Breaks into a shed where garbage or food is stored
- Is in a tree
- Pulls down a bird feeder or knocks over a barbeque
- Moves through a backyard or field but does not linger
This line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from April 1st to November 30th.
Stay calm and DO NOT approach a bear!
