We have a male bear and a mama/cub pair who’ve all been coming through and around for the apples. we’ve electrified chicken pens and the part of the orchard that hasn’t been picked/come ripe yet, and so far, that has been working, fingers crossed. the male bear inspected the electric fence, paced for a while, and then went back into the woods. we’ve hooked up flashing red lights around the place at night time, and play CBC Radio One as well. and so far, it’s been working…but we’re eagerly awaiting the rains and for the salmon to run so that the bears can finally feed. it’s been such a difficult spring/summer for them, and it’s hard to see them penalised for trying to meet their needs, in the same ways that we are all trying to meet ours.
we strive to manage this shifting interface in ways that end in more positive results all around, always eager to learn from what successes in living with bears that others are having. we were inspired by the story of this kid’s invention that him succeed in protecting his cattle AND make peace with the lions that were killing them.