Canada: Why bears are feeling more at home near people

Take a look at why bears are feeling more at home near people in Canada.

CBC News: The National on Youtube has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Hundreds of black bears have been destroyed in B.C. this year after wandering into populated areas in search of food. CBC’

Bears are looking for food to eat every day. They are certainly dangerous animals.

Fatal bear attacks in North America have occurred in a variety of different settings. There have been several in wilderness habitats of bears involving hikers, hunters, and campers. Brown bear (Ursus arctos, a subspecies of which is known as the grizzly bear, Ursus arctos horribilis) incidents have occurred in its native range spanning Alaska, Northern Canada, and Western Canada, and portions of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The locations of black bear wilderness fatal attacks reflect its wider range.

Bears held captive by animal trainers, in zoos or carnivals, or kept as pets, have been responsible for several attacks. There have also been really unusual cases in which a person entered a bear's cage and was then mauled.

Bear attacks are rare in North America. These attacks are for predatory, territorial, or protective reasons. Most wilderness attacks have occurred when there were only one or two people in the vicinity.

The three most frequent species of bear attacks are: the brown bear, the black bear (Ursus americanus), and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus).