Photo courtesy of Jason Friesen Facebook.

Black bears have been reported in several communities in our region over the past couple of weeks. Ken Holme operates K.C.'s Outfitters at Sundown, a bear hunting lodge.
He says there are a few precautions people can take at this time of year to prevent bears from coming into populated areas.

"Garbage should definitely be kept indoors and hauled away on a regular basis. Bird feeders, the sunflower and any other oilseed actually attracts the bears and the third item that a lot of people forget about is barbeques. They definitely attract bears."

Holme says bears are in search of food while waiting for their natural food sources to be available in the wild. He notes the normal food sources for bears at this time of year are the small buds on the poplar trees, just before the leaf stage and lush green grass. Holme adds bears do a lot of grazing.

Meanwhile, Holme says they are having a good spring hunting season with bears having come through the winter in good shape.

"It's been really good. One night, between six hunters, we saw 17 bears and there are a lot of different sizes of bears out in the woods and it's been good for us so far."

Holme says their lodge caters primarily to American hunters.