08/25/2025
🌲🐻 Did you know? About 25% of all North American black bears live in BC! 🐻🌲
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is the most common bear in Canada, with around 120,000–150,000 black bears calling BC home.
Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) are slower to reproduce, with only approximately 15,000 bears in BC. In fact, grizzly bears are the slowest-reproducing land mammal in North America, which may explain why female bears have a reputation for being fiercely protective of their young!
Black bears generate 14,000–25,000 calls per year to the Conservation Officer Service, while grizzlies account for 400–500 calls per year.
Most bears will leave an encounter on their own, but if they learn to associate humans with food, they can get bold. Living in bear country means locking up garbage, compost and other attractants to keep bears wild and safe!
👉 Learn more at https://wildsafebc.com/learn/
References:
British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. (2001). Black bears in British Columbia. Retrieved August 26, 2025, fromhttps://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/blackbear.pdf
British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. (2018). Grizzly bear population estimate for 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2025, fromhttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/wildlife-wildlife-habitat/grizzly-bears/grizzly_bear_pop_est_report_2018_final.pdf
