INTELLIGENCE & aBILITIES

 PLEASE keep bears wild! 

• Give bears and other wildlife space to go about their daily routine undisturbed. 

• Learn how to be ‘Bear Savvy,’ while enjoying the many activities offered on the Sunshine Coast. 

• Learn how to ‘Bear Proof’ your home and property. 

• DO NOT feed bears or other wildlife intentionally or unintentionally

• DO NOT approach, follow or attempt to interact with  bears or any other wildlife.

Intelligence

Bears are highly intelligent, on par with the great apes, and have the largest brain compared to other land mammals of similar size. They have superior navigational ability and excellent long-term memory. 

opportunists

Bears are opportunists. As omnivores, they consume a large variety of foods, including vegetation, insects, fish, small mammals, and anything else that is readily available, adjusting their diet as the season progresses. As much as 90% of a bear’s diet can consist of plants. As well, bears can ingest anything we and our domestic animals do and more, including petroleum products. It requires a lot of calories to maintain their large body weight and so it behooves them to find foods that are easy to access, including our unmanaged attractants, in order to avoid wasting precious calories. Learn more

Vision

Bears see in colour and have good close-up vision. They are good at detecting movements however the jury is still out on their vision at over two hundred yards distance. When a bear stands up on its hind legs, it is not about to attack as hollywood tries to make us believe; it is simply trying to get a better sense of what has caught its attention.

Hearing

A black bear’s hearing exceeds human frequency ranges and has probably twice the sensitivity. Its large ears can detect sound from all directions and be a black bear’s first line of defence against danger while its snout is busy detecting forage. Black bears can also hear farther than they can see in overgrown and forested areas.

Smell

A bear’s sense of smell is excellent, 7 times more sensitive than a bloodhound’s and 2100 times better than a human’s; some estimates suggest that this enables them to smell strong food odours from sources up to 29–32 km (18–20 miles) away under ideal conditions.

Swimming

Bears are good swimmers and can swim in fast moving fresh or salt water. An unfortunate grizzly named Tex, recently swam about 7 kms from the Powell River area to Texada Island.

Running and tree climbing

As well as being able to run up to speeds of 56–64 km/h (35 to 40 mph), quickly and easily, uphill, downhill, or sideways, black bears, with their shorter claws, can climb up and down trees with amazing speed and agility. They can run up one tree when chased by another bear, jump over to a nearby tree and run down to escape…... but they have to do it butt first. When a bear is stuck in a tree with an aggressor below, it only has its feet to defend itself from the other bear‘s teeth.

If you see a bear up a tree, give it space and go inside. A black bear will climb a tree because it is anxious and stressed. Give it time. The bear may wait until nightfall to come down.

Be aware that bears can and do run down trees in a flash, even if you, your kids or your dog are below.

It is instinctual for a fearful cub to run up a tree, but when they sense a threat, a mother black bear sends her cubs up a tree with a whuff, and grunts when she wants them to come down. Grizzlies can and do climb trees, although their longer claws are specialized for digging,

Daily Activity Period

Wild bears are most active at sunrise and sunset, spending eighty percent of their time foraging. Most bears nap during the day, in day beds made out of soft materials, especially during hot summer weather. While bears do a good portion of their roaming during the night, it is not unusual to see them in the daytime.