By Alexandra Mehl, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterHA-SHILTH-SA
Vancouver Island is known for its predatory wildlife, such as black bears, coastal wolves and cougars, that roam the rugged coastline.
Amidst the coast many towns and villages sit in areas with high populations of predatory wildlife, making interactions with humans often inevitable, unless effective coexistence management is in place.
Dennis Hetu is the program administrator for lands, resources and public works for Toquaht Nation, working and living in the First Nations鈥� village of Macoah near Ucluelet. His job entails educating on and implementing strategies to avoid human-wildlife interactions within his community.
Macoah is located between two highly productive salmon-bearing streams, explains Hetu, and during the spawning season there is a higher risk of bears traveling through the village. During this time, Macoah鈥檚 hazing program is on guard.
With the hazing program, when a bear is reported, two to three individuals will drive to the site and check out the area, explains Hetu.
鈥淚f the bear is still there, we actually go out of our way to scare them off,鈥� said Hetu. 鈥淲e make them feel very unwelcome in our community, and it鈥檚 not because we don鈥檛 like them, we love them鈥�. we want them to remain alive.鈥�
Hetu encourages community members to report bear and wildlife sightings, and to not stop, feed, or take photos.
鈥淓very tiny interaction that a person has with this animal changes the way that the animal feels about humans,鈥� explained Hetu. 鈥淲hen you stop and take a picture, you may think you鈥檙e being completely harmless to that animal鈥� just the fact that nothing happened between you and that bear makes that bear believe that it鈥檚 safe. And we鈥檙e not safe, we鈥檙e definitely not safe for bears.鈥�
Other efforts, such as proper garbage disposal and recycling storage, helps with effective coexistence.
Since the implementation of a proper garbage disposal and recycling storage, human-wildlife interactions in the community have decreased from 20 to 30 per year to zero in the last three years, said Hetu.
When predatory animals like bears enter the village, it鈥檚 usually because they are following their nose, he said.
鈥淚f you take away a food source of theirs, there鈥檚 no reason for them to stick around, they will cruise through,鈥� said Hetu. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 no reason for them to stay then they鈥檒l move on.鈥�
Hetu said that habitat coexistence occurs when animals no longer have a reason to remain in and around areas populated with humans they are then forced to return to their habitat.
鈥淚f we can restore it to the point where they can actually survive and thrive in their own habitat, which we are taking away strip by strip, it gives them a better chance of not only surviving in the wild, but not having to come into town and beg for scraps,鈥� said Hetu.
He notes that salmon restoration projects in fish-bearing streams and bear dens models in areas they frequent contributes to habitat restoration.
Bob Hansen is a retired human-wildlife coexistence specialist with Parks Canada and a seasonal community coordinator with WildSafe BC. He notes that he is not speaking on behalf of either organization.
Hansen explains that historically, and up until the late `60s and early `70s in Canada, the strategy to manage human-wildlife conflict was focused on reducing and controlling the number of animals.
鈥淚n the decades since, that thinking has really evolved to the point now where we have such a greater understanding of wildlife ecology and wildlife behaviors, and the dynamics that can lead to conflict,鈥� said Hansen. 鈥淣ow the emphasis is on the human side of the equation, you know, what can we do in terms of preventing conflict in the first place is the biggest emphasis.鈥�
Hansen said programs, such as WildSafe BC, focus on prevention, education, and outreach, which then avoids human-wildlife conflict.
鈥淲hat are the root鈥ources of the conflict in the first place? And almost always there鈥檚 something we can do on the human side to prevent that,鈥� said Hansen.
Hansen said that some solutions include urban planning, management of attractants and understanding wildlife.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of things that we can do on the human side, and where that happens, you see real reductions in conflicts,鈥� said Hansen.
鈥淜eeping wildlife wild is really a shared responsibility, and everybody has a role to play in that.鈥� said Todd Windle, coordinator of Parks Canada鈥檚 Wild about Wolves program. 鈥淓verything is interconnected, and to have a healthy ecosystem for all of us we need to have all those parts of the ecosystem.鈥�
鈥淐hanging our behaviors .125and.375 the way we think is the answer,鈥� added Hetu. 鈥淎nd of course, engaging with the youth. The youth are the future, and if anybody鈥檚 going to pass on the message positively, it鈥檚 going to be our youth.鈥�
