Bear calls double for police in Timmins and North Bay, but quieter season elsewhere in the north

The bears have gone to bed in northern Ontario and this was a much busier bear season in some corners of the north.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says it received 2,300 bear calls in the northeast this year, up slightly from the 2,128 last year, but down dramatically from 4,274 in 2016.

The ministry says that despite dry conditions in many parts of the north, there was enough for bears to eat in the bush to keep them out of cities and towns for much of the summer.

But ministry officials says "a shortage of fall foods such as Mountain Ash berries saw an increase in bear activity in northeast region, particularly in theTimminsand North Bay districts."

Police in those citiescertainly noticed.

North Bay police responded to 100 bear calls this summer, double what they saw in 2016 and 2017.

Timminspolice also saw their bear calls nearly double up to 401 in 2018 from 243 in 2017 and 239 the year before that.

Don't call police just for a bear sighting

Police department spokesperson MarcDepatiesays many of those wereTimminsresidents simply reporting a bear sighting.

"I mean I know there's a visceral response where 'Oh my God there's a bear in my backyard. I have to notify the authorities' That's simply not the case," he says.

Depatie says while officers only go out to a call where public safety is thought to be threatened, dealing with bears does tie up officers.

"It does effectively cause an element of burden on platoons that are responding to calls," he says.

"Where they could be responding to, I don't want to say legitimate calls, but there are more pressing issues they could be dealing with."

Meanwhile, it was a quieter bear season in the northeast's two largest cities.

Sault Ste. Marie police received 172 calls about bears this year, down slightly from 190 in 2017 and down almost by half from 324 calls in 2016.

Greater Sudbury police went out to 181 bear reports this summer, down by half from 363 last year and significantly lower than the busy summer of 2016 when police received1,198 calls.