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Cougars and grizzlies are a good reason for me to live on the East coast. We have coyotes that can become aggressive, but I have yet to meet one really close. The do reduce the amount of stray cats here
Vancouver has coyotes, but not here on the southern part of the island - at, least, I haven’t heard of them being here. It’s not uncommon, but by that I mean about once a year, that you read of a person or their dog getting attacked by wild animals while camping or hiking. It’s not frequent. I’ve never heard of an actual attack in the city. It’s very rare to hear of a death by a grizzly (no grizzlies on the Island, they are inland I think, but there are “smaller” bears), or other vicious animals. Honestly, I’ve heard more over the years about pit bull maulings, which can happen anywhere.
 
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You would have to go out of your way if you actually wanted to be somewhere where you’re likely to spot a cougar or a bear. Deer, less so. They just stroll around town in broad daylight. I’m hoping to see one soon. I will probably see one when it’s difficult to reach for my phone/ camera! Murphy’s Law.
 
The wildlife we see a LOT of this time of year onward are raccoons, skunks and foxes. There's coyotes around here, but not in town much. If you get up towards Georgian Bay, there are black bears. There's deer, up in agricultural areas north of here, but not in town. Also, bunnies, squirrels, mice, chipmunks.
 
I often hear the wolves howling outside of town and saw a scraggly one once this spring walking beside the road, apparently a fox encounter is less serious than a wolf encounter. I was reading for a wolf encounter you should do the opposite as you would for a bear. And foxes tend to prefer to steer clear of people.
 
If you get up towards Georgian Bay, there are black bears.


We don't know yet if this is some kind of straggler or a sign they are returning to Southern Ontario, but this is a long way South of Georgian Bay. In fact, Ilderton isn't far from my house and my son used to bike out in that area.
 
Unless they are grizzlies or polar bears they are all black bears. Even the brown ones are black bears!

And we don't have grizzlies here. Polar bears, of course, don't come this far South but I think they get them in the far North of Ontario up around James Bay. So a bear in Southern or Central Ontario is a black bear, period.
 
Once, on a canoe trip, we saw a silver mother bear with her youngsters. We spotted the babies and quit paddling. Mother eventually noticed us and hustled the wee ones into the shrubbery. Too bad the cameras were all packed in dry spaces! Or maybe not - we all got lots of mental pictures to keep in out memory albums!
 
Once, on a canoe trip, we saw a silver mother bear with her youngsters. We spotted the babies and quit paddling. Mother eventually noticed us and hustled the wee ones into the shrubbery. Too bad the cameras were all packed in dry spaces! Or maybe not - we all got lots of mental pictures to keep in out memory albums!
Cool!

A couple of friends invited me to Whistler about 10 years ago, to stay with them in their apartment style hotel suite with a clear view to the chairlift and “bunny hill”. It was spring and there was no snow left near the bottom. We were having coffee on the balcony, and saw a group of tourists trying to take pictures on the hill, of a bear (a young almost full grown bear). He came bouncing down toward them, like he wanted to play. They started running down the hill, and he ambled off into the woods. My friend got a video of it. It was quite fun to watch. The tourists were perhaps a bit naive - it’s possible he didn’t want to play...or that mama bear was still nearby. Whistler has a bear problem, or it did last I heard...there are special lock handles on all the garbage cans in the village. They do wander into public areas, and hang around near restaurants...as the smell of cooking food is always in the air.
 
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We were visited by a young grizzly when camping in Kananaskis. The bear had been pestering elsewhere in the campground for a few days. Conservation staff had tried chasing it away - it returned. They trapped it and released it some distance away - and it returned. They shot at it with rubber bullets - and it returned. It then visited us and wandered off. Later that evening it charged the Conservation staff and they shot it. They hate doing that but just can't leave animals that behave aggressively anywhere near the campers.
 
They are technically native in Southern Ontario, just got driven North by human encroachment.
It does seem like bears are migrating south here in Ontario. There have been sightings, and unfortunately given the danger of them foraging in populated areas is that at least one ended up getting shot and killed by the police because MNR "arrived too late" that morning. Bears roaming about a neighbourhood at the same time kids are going to school puts everyone at risk, especially the bear.

 
It also seems like many black bears are used to sharing spaces with humans. If you live in a more rural area, they can be seen in groups foraging at the dump and paying no attention to all the people taking selfies with them.
They are just too busy eating. Most black bears are mellow and ok if you don't surprise them or come between them and what they want (including Cubs). They'll just wander off before you get there. I think they're less aggressive than many dogs....they are just, well....big, with big strong teeth and claws.
 
We were visited by a young grizzly when camping in Kananaskis. The bear had been pestering elsewhere in the campground for a few days. Conservation staff had tried chasing it away - it returned. They trapped it and released it some distance away - and it returned. They shot at it with rubber bullets - and it returned. It then visited us and wandered off. Later that evening it charged the Conservation staff and they shot it. They hate doing that but just can't leave animals that behave aggressively anywhere near the campers.
Yikes. Close call.
 
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