HYDRO POLES AT RISK?

When Alan Leedy returned from his moose hunt he asked if I would be interested in doing a story about marauding bears attacking hydro poles. He had noticed the chewed poles, taken some photos and asked a local resident who told him that Hydro had investigated and yes, bears were the culprits.

While taking pictures for my own use I encountered Marguerite Pigeon who told me that a neighbour had discovered bear hair in the chewed poles. She also told me that there were more at the nearby dump on the South Baptiste Lake Road.

In all, I counted 10 chewed hydro poles along the Old Diamond Lake Road. Some of the poles looked as if a good wind would soon snap them. I could also see that Hydro was replacing the poles and the new green ones were untouched.

I called Hydro and talked to Lorraine, no last name, who told me that in 30 years she had never heard such a story. Perhaps it was a pre-historic beaver come to life? (My comment not hers.) Lorraine said she would get back to me.

Later in the day Glenda from Belleville called to say that she had called Bancroft and yes, bears were the culprits. Hydro had seen this phenomenon before. But Glenda could only postulate as to why. “Not enough beech trees to scratch; maybe they like what the poles were dipped in?”

Next I contacted the MNR’s Bear Guy – Marty Obbard. Readers may recall seeing Dr. Obbard on the Rick Mercer show while researching bear dens in Algonquin Provincial Park.

“Yes, this was done by a bear. It is a well known phenomenon,” he said, leaving me wondering where I have been all these years.

Marty explained this is typically done in late May and June by males, “presumably males are marking to indicate to other males that they are in the area as the mating season approaches. That is, they are trying to keep other males away from the area to ensure that they alone get access to receptive females.”

He continued to say that often bears will stand up and rub their shoulders in the chewed or clawed up part of the tree, or in this case hydro poles, to leave hair and scent behind. Females may also investigate these sign posts.

“Grizzly (brown) bears in North America do this also, as do brown bears in Europe.  

BEAR TERMINOLOGY

Or Semantics. Recently I discovered that the MNR no longer refers to nuisance bears or sows. According to Sr. Media Relations Officer Jolanta Kowalski, “The Ministry and the Bear Wise program have been moving away from that terminology for years.” She explained that “Sow” is a term normally applied to domestic pigs, so “sow” is inaccurate and old terminology from the days when bears were treated as vermin. “Nuisance” implies bears are pests when they are in fact wildlife trying to find food which can sometimes bring them into conflict with humans. Now they are referred to as “Problem” bears.