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Spring Has Arrived – And So Have The Bears

Mother Bear and 4 cubs in southern Manitoba


It’s been a long winter.  Our first full winter in Manitoba.  And it seems that it’s not quite finished yet.  This time last year when we first moved to Dans Bois, the days were very warm.  Temperatures were averaging around 10-15C in the daytime, and barely creeping below freezing at night.  This year is much different.  We’ve had cold daytime temperatures since the beginning of April.  Highs have hovered just above freezing during the daytime with nightime lows creeping down to -20 Celsius.  This has set back our greenhouse project by nearly 2 weeks so far.  Low night time temperatures mean we’ve been forced to move plants in and out of the greenhouse daily.  It’s a chore, but it’s our food.

There are signs of spring, however.  Canada Geese can be seen and heard flying high above us.  Sandhill cranes circling in the sky as they slowly make their way north.  And the drumming of grouse trying to muster up hens to mate in the forest out back.  And bears.

We’ve yet to have any real problems with bears disrupting our property.  There was ‘the incident’ last fall, but that is entirely different than the problems we could be having.  Destruction of our garden, barbecue, compost, etc.  We share this space with the bears.  They were here long before us,  and should be respected in that matter.  Keeping a clean, odor free property around the house is key in not attracting them.  The bears have definitely returned, though.

I was out for a hike in the back 60 acres of forest we have, and sure enough, the signs of black bears emerging from their dens are everywhere.  From hair on our fences to tracks in the snow, the presence of the bears can be seen in all corners of the bush here.

We shot this video while out hiking the bush a few days ago.  And there’s a very cute treat at the end of the video.

And here is a video of Just The Bears

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