Yukon conservation officers are spending a lot of time dealing with bear incidents.

So far this year, there have been 67 incidents between people and bears recorded by conservation officers.

An incident “would be an event reported to the Conservation Officer Services branch that falls within that category due to its nature,” Environment Yukon said in a statement.

“To mention some examples in this context, it can be someone reporting a bear damaging property, entering a dwelling or eating garbage/any other attractants, a sighting of a bear at a school or any other place too close to the public, to something like a bear encounter that caused human injury/death.”

One black bear has been relocated to date.

On a more troubling note, nine black bears and three grizzlies have been shot and killed by conservation officers.

According to Mara De La Rosa, a communications analyst with Environment Yukon, “compared to the previous two years, the control mortalities are below the average number we normally see by the end of July (27 total in July 2022, and 28 total in July 2023)”.

The Yukon has no rehabilitation options open for bears, so if a female is killed, so are her dependent cubs.

“In general, large carnivores such as bears are poorly suited for life in captivity, as caring for them in captivity (even if only temporarily) requires very specialized facilities and care,” De La Rose said. 

“Large carnivores have very large home ranges in the wild (hundreds of kilometres squared), and research indicates that the psychological and physiological well-being of these animals suffer when they are held in captivity.

“We do provide operational funding to support the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and they do some wildlife rehabilitation when the situation and species are appropriate, and they have capacity to do so,” she added.

The preserve north of Whitehorse, though, has not hosted bears on site, at least in recent years, if ever, and is not equipped to deal with them.

De La Rosa did not directly explain why bears in the Yukon needing rehabilitation, particularly cubs, couldn’t be sent to Outside facilities, such as the Northern Lights Centre in British Columbia.

As for public criticism for its approach to handling so-called problem bears, De La Rosa had a fairly extensive answer.

After the June 30 incident near Haines Junction, where three grizzlies were shot and killed after one attacked a female jogger, there was some very angry public sentiment about the involved conservation officers “shooting first and asking questions later.”

One of the bears was apparently shot almost as soon as the officers arrived at the Pine Lake campground, and two others shortly afterward.

Grizzly Bear Protection Yukon (GBPY) has also asked questions about how conservation officers handle bears.

More than a month ago, Uli Nowlan, one of six directors on the organization’s board, approached The Yukon Star to investigate the matter further because it couldn’t get the government to answer its questions.

De La Rosa said, “It is important to remember that conservation officers dedicate their careers to the conservation and protection of the environment and wildlife, with public safety being their top priority.

“The Conservation Officer Services branch follows its human-bear conflict risk assessment protocol to guide its actions, and they rely on their experience and training to make decisions in the field every day. The human-bear conflict risk assessment protocol considers factors such as bear behaviour, history, health, sex and age.”

De La Rosa went on to note “each human-bear conflict scenario is unique, and many factors influence the officer’s decision-making, including public safety, the level of conflict that has occurred, the history of the conflict, and the condition and behaviour of the bear.

“For example, the officer must consider if relocation of the bear is an option and if it can be done safely for the officer, the community, and the bear.”

De La Rosa was asked why the Yukon doesn’t seem to follow the lead of other jurisdictions with grizzly populations which take into account the circumstances of the attack. She said she would investigate further.

In many of those cases, such as when people find themselves between a mother and cubs, or interrupt a bear feeding on a carcass, the animals are not euthanized. Instead, they are left to live out their lives.

Only more predatory-type attacks tend to result in swift euthanizations.

“In most cases, bears that display predatory or aggressive behaviour, are in poor health, or actively and habitually seeking out human sources of food and will not be candidates for relocation,” De La Rose said.

She didn’t specify how often that’s the case.

De La Rose did provide a list of where bears have been shot. There is a wide distribution across the territory.

As of July 9, bears had been shot in Whitehorse, Carcross, Faro and Mount Lorne. All were black bears.

Four more black bears have been killed in rural areas.

The three grizzlies shot June 30 near Haines Junction are represented in the total numbers.