New this year to The Revelstoke Current and Revelstoke Bear Aware is Where the Bears Are. By clicking on the Revelstoke Bear Aware Society button at the bottom of the front page — or any section front — you will find a map of bear sightings in Revelstoke and a link to the Revelstoke Bear Aware website. (Please note the sightings are not exact, they are within a 200m radius). These are sightings that have been reported to the Revelstoke Bear Aware phone line and/or the Provincial Problem Wildlife phone line. By clicking on the bear icon, you will see the date the sighting was reported and whether an attractant such as garbage, fruit, bird feeders, pet food or unmanaged compost brought the bear to the area.
The map will be updated bi-weekly as more sightings are reported. Each of the bear icons does not necessarily represent a different bear in the community, but an individual sighting and may be the same bear that is moving from house to house looking for food.
By reporting bear sightings, it allows the Revelstoke Bear Aware Coordinator to determine if an attractant has brought the bear to the location. When attractants are identified and removed the bear will continue on its way. When this education does not occur the bear will often remain in the area looking for more food.
The longer a bear remains in the community feeding on unnatural food and coming into contact with people the more dangerous the bear becomes and the more likely the bear will end up destroyed. By reporting bear sightings, education can occur and the bear is given a chance to move on its way. To report a bear sighting call Revelstoke Bear Aware at 250-837-8624 or the Provincial Problem Wildlife line a 1-877-952-7277
