Bear Invasion 2002: the worst is yet to come

If you think we've had a lot of bears in the City so far this year, we've got bad news for you.

The worst is yet to come.

That's the word from Dennis Monaghan (shown), the man retained by the City of Sault Ste. Marie to protect you from nuisance bears.

"My busiest season is July," says Monaghan. "We're not even there yet."

According to Monaghan, last year's bear sightings were up 245 percent over the previous year.

But this year's numbers are up 400 percent over last year's already-high numbers.

"We do have a problem here," Monaghan wryly concludes.

Monaghan's bear statistics

"I have four traps now," Monaghan says. "If I had 10, they'd all be out." So far this year, he's responded to 150 bear calls, compared to 65 last year.

He's set 28 traps this year, compared to 16 last year.

Monaghan estimates Sault Ste. Marie's bear population at something like 50. As many as 20 to 30 bears have been reported at one time at the municipal landfill.

Many of the Sault's bears were displaced by construction of the Crimson Ridge golf course, he says.

Talking to police about culling

Monaghan is talking to local police this week about further control methods, including possible culling or trapping at the City dump.

"The landfill site would be the perfect spot," he says.

The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Board will be discussing the bear issue at its monthly meeting on Thursday. SooToday.com is planning to post coverage of that meeting Thursday afternoon.

Learn about bears

If you think you know what a bear sounds like, you're probably wrong. The North American Bear Centre, a non-profit educational organization based in Ely, Minnesota, reports that movie and television directors often use wolf growls in place of bear sounds because that's what people think they sound like. In reality, black bears rarely growl.

Click on the following links to hear authentic recordings of black bear sounds:

Cub distress calls Bear family conversing Nursing cubs Frightened bear moaning Cub and mother Chomping and blowing Bear threatening a bear

Where the bears are

To view SooToday's complete listing of 2002 bear sightings up until last Thursday morning, click here.

Other recent SooToday coverage of Bear Invasion 2002:

Brady Irwin meets a bear John Campbell roars, officials issue warning Council to address bear problems

Access the very latest bear-sighting reports

For the guaranteed-freshest news about bear sightings in the Sault, click on the "Local Police Beat" link at the top right of this page. This information is updated daily around 7:30 a.m. with all the latest overnight police news, and is one of SooToday's most popular features.