Men who yell at bears: Alberta ecologist teaches bears to avoid people

Bears are beginning to awaken from their winter slumber as signs of spring are finally on the horizon.

But for Alberta Environment and Parks ecologist John Paczkowski, spring is time to begin reminding bears who's boss.

Paczkowskispoke to the Calgary Eyeopener on Friday about how he and other Parks staff use "aversiveconditioning" to discourage bears from lingering near areas with high human activity.

In less technical terms, that means he professionally shouts at bears.

"Having a good strong voice helps, too, but you also have to understand a bit of bear psychology and bear social hierarchy," Paczkowski said.

"I understand that there are dominant bears and we try and be that dominant bear on the land."

Paczkowski said the goal isn't to have the bears leave Kananaskis entirely, but to simply have them stay a safe distance from people.

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Other techniques have included using karelian bear dogs to frighten the bears, or hitting the animals with rubber bullets or paint balls not to hurt them, but simply to annoy or frighten them into keeping away.

"So when a bear gets a little bump in the butt from a paintball or something, it hears that human voice so it starts to associate the presence of humans with a slightly negative experience."

Paczkowskisaid that in the 20 years staff have been using aversive techniques, they've seen fewer issues with bears forcing campground closures or having to be removed form the region.

He said travellers shouldn't randomly go outlooking to condition bears, but it is important for hikers and other adventurers to make their presence known and carry bear spray.

He said one of the region's grizzlies, Bear 104, has responded well to conditioning.

"I remember first encountering her she was a young three-year-old bear when we first met and she was a bit of a hooligan. She was pushing the boundaries and walking through campgrounds," he said.

"[She] grew through those difficult teenage years and she's sort of now developed status in the bear community and she sort of knows the rules of where she can and can't go."

Paczkowski will be discussing aversiveconditioning and other bear safety tips on Saturday at the Canmore Nordic Centre's fifth annual Bear Day.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener