How bear aware are Prince George residents?
That's what a UNBC study is attempting to uncover.
Throughout the summer, two university students will be going door-to-door conducting a survey on the thoughts and attitudes of residents about having bears in their neighbourhood.
"So we're really interested in what people's experiences and what people's reactions to that are," said UNBC environmental studies professor Annie Booth, who is supervising the project. "Whether they are very angry and want the bear terminated, or they'd like to support urban wildlife and that means keeping the bears safe by changing how they behave."
The survey officially kicked off last winter, but the two students conducting the research didn't receive much by way of participation. Booth said she's hoping to get more people throughout the city - the students will canvass about 30 streets across Prince George - to respond during the summer.
The Northern Bear Aware Society (NBAS) will benefit from the research, said Dave Bakker, president of the non-profit organization.
"Hopefully we don't have any gaps [in our knowledge] but maybe with the survey and the data they collect and how it's analyzed, it may show what we're lacking or what the public wants to know," he said.
The society has traditionally shared information about being proactive and avoiding conflicts with bears, but there may be something more that people want to know, according to Bakker.
"We might come across information that would involve well what do black bears eat or what's the difference between black bears and grizzly bears and that general knowledge is something we can address when we make our presentations," he said.
One of the questions that could be answered from the collected data is whether the public supports the work already done by the NBAS and the conservation office to educate residents to change their habits to reduce bear attractants.
"I'm really interested in it because there are a rise in urban bears and other wildlife issues across North America, but there isn't a lot of research to say this is what people think would be reasonable solution, this is how people feel about seeing bears," said Booth. "You need to understand what the humans will see as an acceptable range of animal management strategies."
The survey takes about 15 minutes and the responses are kept anonymous, said Booth. Students will identify themselves as being from the university and anyone with questions can contact Booth at UNBC.
