A Mama Bear Was Killed In Manitoba & A Rescue Group Is Blaming Bird Feeders

Do you have these hanging in your yard? Bears in Manitoba are being attracted to bird feeders, says a local rescue group, and it's leading to cubs being orphaned. People are now being asked to take their feeders down to protect the animals.

Bird feeders are meant to do just that, feed birds. However, bears are actually being attracted to them due to the seeds.

Black Bear Rescue Manitoba is now asking people to take their feeders down, after the organization recently rescued two cubs that were orphaned in Pinawa, a community northeast of Winnipeg.

Another baby bear sibling is still on the loose.

The young trio became orphaned when their mother tried to get into a porch, and was shot by the homeowner.

"Once bears get a taste of the birdseed they're gonna hang around especially if you keep filling the feeder," Judy Stearns, owner of Black Bear Rescue Manitoba, told CBC News.

Another cub was taken in by the rescue group right before the other two were. That little one's sibling is also still on the loose.

On Facebook, the group suggested that bird feeders should be taken down if there's even just a slight chance that bears could be around.

Black Bear Rescue Manitoba is now caring for as many as 15 cubs.

"If it's preventable that a female doesn't have to be shot then we'd much prefer that, for the cub's sake," explained Stearns.

Of the three cubs that were recently found orphaned in two separate incidents, only one is handling being indoors and away from its mother well.

Stearns said that both cubs in the sibling duo are stressed and agitated.

In June, Manitoba Conservation and Climate also asked people in the province to put away their bird feeders because of the local bears.

That's because the most common cause of conflict between bears and humans is the feeders.

Manitoba Conservation and Climate said that once the bears are attracted to bird snacks, they can remember that area and will return again and again.

There have been quite a few noteworthy bear sightings recently.

A black bear was on the loose in Ottawa last week, before it was eventually caught and released back into the wild.

In May, another climbed up a tree in a Winnipeg residential area, and ended up staying there for hours.