Who you gonna call?
Friday, September 11, 2009 (17:33:29)

Posted by WpgJim

East Selkirk resident disgusted after bear report goes unchecked

By Mark T. Buss

An East Selkirk resident who watched a mother bear and four cubs roam his property for over four hours on the weekend is disgusted with the way his report was handled by Manitoba Conservation officials.

Kyle Wass said not only did Conservation officers fail to attend the scene, he still hasn’t received a follow-up call.

“I grew up in a hunting family and I’ve had a lot of dealings with (Conservation) over the years, but the fact nobody would come out and investigate ... I was stunned,” Wass said.

Wass said the incident started around 2 a.m. on Sept. 5 when his two dogs became agitated and began barking vigorously in the family’s backyard on Strathcona Road across from Happy Thought School.

Wass said he went outside to investigate, only to find the dogs had treed two bear cubs on the property.

Realizing something else was in the yard, he turned to find a 250-pound sow and two more cubs scampering up a tree.

“She was right behind me and I didn’t even know it,” Wass said. “Needless to say, I got back into the house pretty quick.”

Wass contacted the Selkirk RCMP, who gave him the Conservation 800-number tip line to call, which he said he did.

After going through the automated directory, Wass said a woman answered the phone who, he said, sounded like she wasn’t to impressed with having her sleep disturbed.

“She told me the Selkirk Conservation office was the hardest one to get hold of and advised me to leave the animals alone and they would eventually go away,” Wass said in a joking tone. “I tried to explain I lived in the village, across from the elementary school ... that I didn’t live off in the boonies somewhere bears normally wander through, but that didn’t seem to matter.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” he added.

Able to eventually gather his dogs in the house, Wass said he and his family spent the next four hours watching the bears climb down from their perch and move from the back yard to the front yard.

As the clock passed 6 a.m., and the bears were still on his property, Wass said he realized no Natural Resources officers were coming to investigate.

“By 7 a.m. the bears were gone from my yard but we didn’t know where they went,” Wass said. “This is a pretty active place. People take their dogs for walks, people jog ... it wasn’t a very good feeling.”

Wass’ mother-in-law Elaine Markwart said her family had two other bear sightings within the last week – one on Frank Street and one of Church Road – including allegations of gunshots Monday night.

Markwart believes bears have become more brazen as they continue to forage for food following a poor summer for berries and other items.

“They’re starving,” Markwart said. “They’re looking for food and I think that makes them dangerous.”

A former Lord Selkirk School Division trustee, Markwart said the bear sighting’s proximity to the Happy Thought School – where children spend their summers congregating on the playground – is unsettling.

“This is potentially dangerous situation in a residential area and we can’t get a proper response?” Markwart questioned. “If (Conservation) doesn’t handle this, who does?”

Environmental sources say protocol regarding bear sightings involves reports being forwarded to the appropriate Conservation office which will then result in a call from a Conservation officer. At press time, it was undetermined if the Saturday morning report was ever forwarded to the Selkirk office.

Barry Verbiwski, head of Conservation’s problem wildlife unit, confirmed 59 bear reports have been called in the Selkirk area this year with approximately one month to go, as opposed to 41 all of last year.

Verbiwski advised homeowners have a role to play by managing their properties so bears aren’t attracted to them. Garbage and food should be secured in a manner that doesn’t allow odours to escape and attractants like compost piles and beehives should be covered.

“Bird feeders and garbage are responsible for 70 per cent of calls,” Verbiwski said.

He added not all reports are investigated but did confirm ones where animals won’t leave a property are normally followed through.

Although he couldn’t officially comment on Saturday’s incident, Verbiwski said having four cubs and a mother in a rural residential setting should have sent up a red flag in his view.

Selkirk Journal calls to Conservation Minister Stan Struthers’ communication staff were not returned as of press time.

Bear attack

While bear sightings are not that uncommon in and around East Selkirk, the community’s worst fears were realized in August 2005 when Harvey Robinson, 68, was attacked and killed by a 250-pound black bear while out picking plums behind his Two Mile Road property in the RM of St. Clements.

The incident could have been even more disastrous had family members not waited for RCMP officers to arrive on the scene. As they stood near Robinson’s body, the bear came charging out of the bush forcing a Selkirk Mountie to shoot the bear twice with his 9-mm pistol.

The bear was found dead five hours later in a massive search that included Selkirk RCMP, Manitoba Conservation and seasoned St. Clements hunters while a helicopter soared overhead.

Source: http://www.selkirkjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1749579