With the warmer weather here and many people making plans for fishing and camping, officials with Saskatchewan Environment have some reminders about bear safety.
Conservation Officer Rich Hildebrand says one problem every year is bears heading into populated areas in search of food.
He says homeowners and campers should be careful not to leave food and garbage outside which would attract wild animals.
“Bears are ruled by their stomachs and they are looking for food and so it is always important to make sure that you have cleaned up after yourself, garbage and pet food, make sure that you don’t leave any around for them”.
If possible use bins with tight covers which will keep bears away.
Hildebrand says interactions between bears and humans are rare, but if you do happen to comes across a bear in the wild remain calm and move away.
“If you encounter one, try and increase the distance between you and the bear, back away, don’t look directly at the bear, don’t run, you can’t outrun them anyway”.
Hildebrand says black bears will rarely attack a human but if it happens to you, the best thing to do is defend yourself and not play dead.