You know the feeling.
As the weather cools down, your appetite increases. Here come the autumn carb and sugar cravings!
According to research summarized by The Guardian, during winter, humans tend to get tired, sleep slightly longer, have more dreams, eat more starchy and sugary foods, and put on weight – like a creature getting ready to hibernate.
The same is true for bears; their desire for snacks is super-amplified because they must put on serious weight to survive the winter.
Bears want everything ‘super-sized!’
According to Yellowstone Forever, During the fall feeding frenzy, grizzlies can eat up to 20,000 calories—and put on up to three pounds of weight—each day. That makes a human’s usual 10-pound winter weight gain seem pathetic!
Before laying down to sleep the winter away, some grizzly bears in Alaska have been recorded bulking up by 450–550kg (1000lb-1,200lbs), doubling their body weight before going for their winter snooze. But even more impressive is that the bears will lose all this accumulated mass, plus another 15–30% of their body weight after a single winter’s sleep.
We wish we could sleep off our excess weight. Eat all you can and sleep it off – now that’s living!
So it should be no surprise that autumn-hungry bears are invading Banff looking for fat and sugar! Bacon scone, anyone?
In the last few weeks, at least five hungry black bears have been on patrol in Banff townsite, searching for ‘fast’ food to sustain them during their long hibernation.
Blair Fyten, a specialist from Parks Canada, told the Rocky Mountain Outlook, “These bears are back, and it’s prior to denning time, so they’re looking for any food they can find.”
As far as naturally yummy food goes, the bears are particularly attracted to the buffaloberry crop, which has been abundant this season. However, as these berries got munched down, hungry bears started looking for other food sources, leading them closer to town, where fruit trees and garbage are easy pickings.
Town residents are being urged to be careful and take precautions.
Parks Canada advises picking fruit off trees or, better yet, cutting your fruit trees down to eliminate wildlife attractants.
They also emphasize properly storing garbage and other items that might attract wildlife.
The concern isn’t just about human safety. In the past, bears that ventured into the town searching for food, mainly from crabapple trees, had to be euthanized for becoming too accustomed to human presence.
That’s not the bears; fault. You would also go for free apples if you were starving!
The Town of Banff is taking further measures to tighten rules around wildlife attractants in response to the increasing interactions between wildlife and residents and to prevent more bears from being put down.
They have changed community standards bylaw for fruit trees.
Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno told the Cochrane Eagle, “Living in a national park setting, we are proud stewards of this land, and that means protecting the wildlife that live here among us.”
The new bylaw allows the municipality to order homeowners to clear fruit from trees or the ground. If not followed, officers can issue an order to remove the fruit, and in extreme cases, a court order might be given to uproot the tree or shrub entirely.
The town is also promoting its fruit tree removal program, which fully reimburses for tree removal and replacement costs.
The balance between human and wildlife coexistence is delicate. While the beauty of Banff is enhanced by its wildlife, ensuring the safety of both residents and animals is paramount.
As the town continues to adapt and implement measures, the hope is to try to ensure humans and animals can each thrive.
The last thing we want is to come face-to-face with a “hangry” bear over our backyard apple tree.
