A few years ago one of the bears Allen studies started going through Whistler Village with her cub looking for midnight snacks.
Rather than shooting the rogue bear and cub, Whistler officials called Allen to see what could be done.
Knowing that, like most animals, bears are creatures of habit, he followed the bear for a few nights to discover its route through town.
He then traveled ahead of the animal each night and bear-proofed all the trash cans and garbage bins. Without food available at its usual stops, the bear had no incentive to visit town.
Feeling Neighborly
The incident is a sign that Whistler residents want to protect their bears. This positive attitude is due in part to Allen's efforts.
When not studying the bears in the field, the bear researcher shares his knowledge as he co-guides mountain ecology tours run by the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort.
Combining lessons in the classroom with field trips in the mountains, Allen helps students—and their parents—learn more about their animal neighbors.
But visitors from outside the Whistler region may be less comfortable coexisting with bears, a serious concern considering the number of tourists that Olympic attention can bring to a community.
The Get Bear Smart Society, founded in Whistler, is therefore helping to educate tourists. The group's goal is peaceful coexistence with bears, and they believe community education is the way to achieve it.
The group puts out bear awareness information wherever they can: in public lectures, in notices at area trailheads, and even in a new set of educational bear-themed playing cards.
Arthur DeJong, director of mountain planning for the Whistler-Blackcomb ski areas, sees the community's interaction with the black bears as a critical test of humans' ability to live side by side with wildlife.
"If we fail as a community to find a way to successfully coexist with black bears, it would be a bleak indicator of the overall picture of conservation, because the black bear is so adaptive, so able to coexist with humans," he said.
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