Becoming More Knowledgeable is the Key
WildSafeBC recognizes that there is much to learn about how best to safely coexist with the many species of animals that call British Columbia home. Becoming more knowledgeable about what leads to conflict and how to reduce it involves many topics such as wildlife behaviour and biology, factors that lead to conflict, and the many solutions available to reduce conflict and stay safe. On this page you will find links to our many resources that will help you become more proficient in these topics and help keep you, your family, and your pets safe, while reducing our negative impacts on wildlife.
ELearning
WildSafeBC has recently launched NEW online courses that are self-paced and are recommended for anyone who works, lives, recreates and raises crops and livestock in BC. New courses will be developed over time so check back frequently. Current offerings are listed below.
Bear Safety When Recreating - FREE Course
This 30 minute course is ideal for anyone who spends time on trails in BC either running, hiking, biking or camping. In this course you will learn how to best avoid a negative encounter and how to react if you do encounter a bear. We review the following topics:
- WildSafeBC's Wildlife Alert Reporting Program**
- Bear attack statistics and how to avoid negative bear encounters when recreating
- How to respond in a bear encounter depending on a bear's behaviour
- Link to Staying Safe in Bear Country video (additional 25 minutes but highly recommended)
- Camping in Bear Country
- Bear spray
Click here to sign up for this course.
**The Wildlife Alert Reporting Program (WARP) has been deactivated; however, the related module is still included in the course.
Wildlife Awareness and Safety Course - Level 1 Certification
This comprehensive course takes 2 to 3 hours to complete and is designed for anyone working in wildlife country, group leaders or anyone that wants to receive in depth knowledge about wildlife species we come into conflict with in BC. The course outline includes:
- Introduction
- BC Wildlife Overview and Reports
- Bear Life History and Behaviour
- Staying Safe in Bear Country video
- Bear Attack Statistics
- Reducing Conflict Where We Live, Play, Grow and Work
- Bear Spray
- Deer
- Cougars
- Wolves and Coyotes
- Moose
- Elk
- Rattlesnakes
- Ticks
The course is fee-based and available here.
However, if you would like to see if the course suits your needs, you can try a free sample of the first 3 modules here.
Bear Spray Workshops
Bear spray is only safe and effective if you become knowledgeable on how and when to use it, how to transport it safely, and have practiced removing it from the holster and discharging it. A bear or other wildlife encounter can happen quickly and you want to be able to pull the bear spray out of the holster, remove the safety, and discharge it in less than 2 seconds. To do this calmly and effectively will rely on muscle memory.
WildSafeBC offers bear spray safety training workshops that allow participants to practice using bear spray that does not have the active ingredient (inert spray). To learn if these courses are offered for free in your community, contact your local community coordinator listed on our contact page. If you require Wildlife Awareness and Safety Level 2 certification for work, you can combine the Level 1 course above with a bear spray training session. Contact bc@wildsafebc.com on how to arrange this.
Would you like to host a Wildlife Awareness and Safety Presentation or a Bear Spray Workshop in your community? Contact your local community coordinator to explore this further.
Staying Safe in Bear Country Video
Understanding black bear and grizzly bear behaviour is critical for responding appropriately in an encounter and doing what you can to prevent an attack. The Staying Safe in Bear Country video is 25 minutes and it is time well spent if you intend to work or play in bear country. Click here for a direct link to this video.
