Bears in Toronto

[Armour]

I've often wondered how long ago it was that bears roamed the landscape of Toronto. Does anyone have any idea as to when the last of them were either killed off or forced to migrate north, due to development and an increasing human population? I imagine they would have existed beyond the old city for some time after it was well established (as the land that comprises North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke was basically country side until 60 years ago).

Here's an interesting article on this subject: http://blog.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/blog/posts/the-history-of-bears-in-toronto/

I have this reoccurring dream at least once a month in which I am walking in the ravine behind my house and I encounter a bear(s) along the way. In one of these dreams (more of a nightmare), I locked eyes with one, in said ravine (we had about equal distance between us and my backyard gate). I raced to my backyard with it chasing me (somehow, I think I managed to barely outrun it and lock the gate just before it got in).

In another one of these dreams (for some reason my backyard fence was non-existent) and I could see my dad walking in the woods (oblivious to a group of 3 large bears nearby) and I was staring, frozen with fear, knowing that they would see him. Then my dad noticed them and began running. They ended up catching him and taking him down; then I woke up. I almost needed therapy for that one.

 

[animatronic]

The best green space for bear sightings in the city is probably Barbara Hall Park.

 

[Armour]

The best green space for bear sightings in the city is probably Barbara Hall Park.

I figured there would be some queer reference brought up in this thread. Not interested in those kinds of bears.

There was a beautiful black bear that wandered into a Newmarket neighbourhood last summer that was needlessly shot and killed.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...in-backyard-in-newmarket-ont/article24720495/

You'd think that the Rouge could still hold a few. So much of it is undisturbed.

 

[Videodrome]

I would imagine that the zoo would be the best place to see that kind of animal.

 

[wild goose chase]

I figured there would be some queer reference brought up in this thread. Not interested in those kinds of bears.

There was a beautiful black bear that wandered into a Newmarket neighbourhood last summer that was needlessly shot and killed.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...in-backyard-in-newmarket-ont/article24720495/

You'd think that the Rouge could still hold a few. So much of it is undisturbed.

I don't know when the last time it was that a black bear actually entered the limits of the city itself, but there have been occasional incidents in other parts of the GTA like Burlington and Pickering too at least within the last decade or so.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/hamilton/2012/05/17/police-shoot-bear-in-burlington-park.html

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2008/05/29/black_bear_caught_in_pickering.html

"Finding a wild bear straying from its northern roots isn't unheard of. Kowalski said bears have been found in Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Guelph."

http://cottagelife.com/news/black-bear-sightings-on-the-rise-in-the-gta

"Bear encounters are usually only a problem for northerners, but when there’s a bad harvest and their food sources are scarce, bears tend to migrate south towards the GTA."

 

[Armour]

I don't know when the last time it was that a black bear actually entered the limits of the city itself, but there have been occasional incidents in other parts of the GTA like Burlington and Pickering too at least within the last decade or so.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/hamilton/2012/05/17/police-shoot-bear-in-burlington-park.html

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2008/05/29/black_bear_caught_in_pickering.html

"Finding a wild bear straying from its northern roots isn't unheard of. Kowalski said bears have been found in Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Guelph."

http://cottagelife.com/news/black-bear-sightings-on-the-rise-in-the-gta

"Bear encounters are usually only a problem for northerners, but when there’s a bad harvest and their food sources are scarce, bears tend to migrate south towards the GTA."

Thanks for the links.

I wonder if there was ever time that grizzly bears lived this far east?

 

[wild goose chase]

Here's a map I found of black bear density in Ontario (from http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/visit/recreational_activites/black-bear-safety-rules.php)

Though this document gives a somewhat different numbers -- with smaller average densities in many places

https://www.ontario.ca/document/bear-density-map

 

[wild goose chase]

I wonder if there was ever time that grizzly bears lived this far east?

It seems like grizzlies lived mainly west of the Mississippi in North America, within historic times, but their remains have been found as far east as Ontario, Ohio and Kentucky.

They might have occasionally ranged into the eastern half of the continent. Many of the remains that have been found in eastern Canada anywhere close to Toronto, or farther east are from thousands of years ago , though so I think they'd probably be unlikely to have stuck around into that part of Ontario as late as colonial times, or at least very rarely.

 

[Armour]

It seems like grizzlies lived mainly west of the Mississippi in North America, within historic times, but their remains have been found as far east as Ontario, Ohio and Kentucky.

They might have occasionally ranged into the eastern half of the continent. Many of the remains that have been found in eastern Canada anywhere close to Toronto, or farther east are from thousands of years ago , though so I think they'd probably be unlikely to have stuck around into that part of Ontario as late as colonial times, or at least very rarely.

Interesting. Yeah, if they were ever hear, I imagine it was -- as you said -- thousands of years ago. Before the thaw from the last ice age, I wonder if polar bears would have been in these parts. They still exist in northern Ontario (around James Bay/Hudson Bay).

 

[ShonTron]

I had a bear sighting two years ago riding between Uxbridge and Lindsay on a rail trail, in Brock Township (technically in the GTA). A black bear cub along a nearby sideroad. I was concerned mostly because I didn't want to encounter the mother bear.

Polar bears are not native to Ontario, except seasonally in a very small area on the Hudson Bay coast on the border with Manitoba. They are not found on James Bay; the Polar Bear Express train to Moosonee is a misnomer.

 

[Armour]

I had a bear sighting two years ago riding between Uxbridge and Lindsay on a rail trail, in Brock Township (technically in the GTA). A black bear cub along a nearby sideroad. I was concerned mostly because I didn't want to encounter the mother bear.

Polar bears are not native to Ontario, except seasonally in a very small area on the Hudson Bay coast on the border with Manitoba. They are not found on James Bay; the Polar Bear Express train to Moosonee is a misnomer.

I stand corrected.

Is this you?:

 

[ShonTron]

No. Not nearly as dramatic. I made sure to ride fast, dinging my bell loudly and quickly for about a kilometre after spotting the black bear cub nearby.

 

[Transportfan]

Interesting. Yeah, if they were ever hear, I imagine it was -- as you said -- thousands of years ago. Before the thaw from the last ice age, I wonder if polar bears would have been in these parts. They still exist in northern Ontario (around James Bay/Hudson Bay).

I'd image they would have lived as far south as the Carolinas during the ice age.

 

[wild goose chase]

I'd image they would have lived as far south as the Carolinas during the ice age.

This blog post seems to think so. At the very least I'd imagine the Maritimes and the northeastern US down to where there was sea ice would have had them.

https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2...ars-ursus-maritimus-range-during-the-ice-age/

Interesting. Yeah, if they were ever hear, I imagine it was -- as you said -- thousands of years ago. Before the thaw from the last ice age, I wonder if polar bears would have been in these parts. They still exist in northern Ontario (around James Bay/Hudson Bay).

I'd imagine they'd be found as far south as here, but I don't know if they'd be very far inland. Polar bears tend to stick near shores closer to the ocean because that's where the sea mammals, such as seals, they like to eat are found.