(Canadian Press) Grizzly bears that visited ecotourism areas along a river on the province’s central coast were less likely than others to encounter conflict with people in communities downstream, a new study by British Columbia-based researchers has found. Jason Moody with the Nuxalk Nation’s fisheries and wildlife program said the research shows ecotourism done right is not a driving factor in conflict between bears and humans. “The findings were pretty clear that if you’re viewing bears in the right way … (it) does not predispose them to bear-human conflicts later on,” said Moody, who contributed to the study and runs an ecotour operation based in Bella Coola. Stories, songs and dances passed down through generations show the Nuxalk and other First Nations along B.C.’s coast have long coexisted with bears,…
Register
