A bear and tractor trailer crash at 8:45 a.m. August 30, 2022 on the northbound lanes of Highway 400 near South Bay Road, Georgian Bay Township cost the life of an adult female bear and left three young cubs scrambling for their lives.
Southern Georgian Bay OPP responded to a report of an animal carcass on the roadway in that area and also became aware of two young cubs and another cub unaccounted for.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) were contacted and attended the scene. The three cubs were safely trapped by the MNRF staff and officers at scene and transported to a wildlife rehabilitator – Bear with Us who will safely release these young bears into the wild next spring.
Although this scenario has a mixed outcome, other situations have not worked out so well for the bears as approximately 40 bears have been struck and killed by vehicles on Highway 400 between Honey Harbour Road, Georgian Bay Township and the Town of Parry Sound during the month of August alone.
Experts have various theories on the cause of the bears wandering outside of their traditional areas but motorists need to be mindful that wildlife collisions do happen. Motorists need to drive within the posted speed limits, scan well ahead for possible wildlife on the shoulder/ditch or roadway and use proper headlamps giving regard to other motorists nearby as wildlife never wear reflective suits and are unlikely to give way to a vehicle if encountered on a roadway.
Cottagers, as the summer season nears to a close, so do the wild food sources that bears count on for their next meal. Leaving untidy garbage cans, poorly cleaned BBQ’s, bird feeders and improper ways of disposing of food products only helps to invite bears and possibly their cubs to your cottage. Please review the following link to help reduce your problems with our four legged friends who live in the bush here all year long – https://www.ontario.ca/page/prevent-bear-encounters-bear-wise
