Department of Environment of Yukon

05/28/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/28/2026 16:57

Practise bear awareness for a safer summer

Published May 28, 2026

As spring soon transitions into summer, Yukon conservation officers are reminding Yukoners that bears are active across the territory. People should be extra diligent about practising bear-safe habits at home, worksites or camps and when recreating outdoors.

The Yukon is bear country. It is common for bears to pass through neighbourhoods, campgrounds, recreation trails and urban areas. As people spend more time doing their favourite outdoor summer activities, it's important to remember bear encounters can happen anywhere and at any time.

Being bear aware, knowing what to do in an encounter and managing attractants helps keep people, property and bears safe.

Conservation officers are reminding the public to take the following precautions:

  • Carry bear spray, know how to use it and keep it readily accessible, not packed away out of reach. Check the expiry date and replace when expired.
  • Stay alert, look for signs of bears and know what to do in an encounter.
  • Never feed bears. Feeding wildlife is illegal and causes bears to associate people with food, increasing the risk of aggressive behaviour and conflict.
  • Secure attractants at home, work and camps. Lock away garbage, compost and recycling, remove bird feeders, pick off fruit or berries from bushes or trees and secure any other smelly items that might attract bears. A secure yard or camp helps keep bears from coming into communities and out of conflict situations. Do an attractant audit of your property.
  • Protect larger attractants. People with beehives, backyard chicken coops, outdoor composts and large gardens should consider installing electric fences to protect both their property and bears.
  • Practise safe wildlife viewing. If a bear is encountered on a roadside, always follow stop, look, leave and move on safely without approaching or lingering. Never exit a vehicle.

Yukon Conservation Officer Services also encourages people to take advantage of bear safety resources including safety courses, videos and printed materials available online at Yukon.ca/bears.

In addition to practising bear-safe habits, Yukoners can now access new tools to better understand when and where wildlife conflicts happen.

The Government of Yukon has launched a new website providing self-serve access to human-wildlife conflict data reported to and collected by Yukon Conservation Officer Services.

The site includes information on reported conflict incidents, common attractants, wildlife mortalities and wildlife-vehicle collisions by species, helping users better understand how, where and why human-wildlife conflicts happen across the territory.

Preventing human-wildlife conflict is a shared responsibility. Providing access to data on conflict trends is intended to build awareness and encourage actions that reduce risks for both people and wildlife.

The site includes data from 2020 to present and will be updated on the first of every month as new information becomes available.

Learn more and explore the data at human-wildlife-conflict.service.yukon.ca.

Living in the Yukon means sharing our spaces with wildlife and everyone has a part to play in reducing conflicts. Simple actions make a difference. The new human-wildlife conflict dashboard builds on this by making timely, easy-to-understand data directly available to Yukoners, reducing red tape, improving transparency and making it easier for people to access information they need about wildlife in their communities.

Minister of Environment Wade Istchenko

Quick facts

  • Human-wildlife conflict is any contact between humans and wildlife that causes harm to the person, animal or property.

  • In 2025 conservation officers responded to approximately 152 human-bear conflicts. This number varies year-to-year and is influenced by human activity, environmental factors and bear activity.

  • Attractants, which are items that attract animals, are the leading cause of conflicts in the territory.

  • In Whitehorse, approximately 73 per cent of human-bear conflicts in 2025 included an attractant. Out of the conflict calls involving an attractant in 2025, 35 per cent included garbage, 15 per cent included birdseed and 13 per cent included natural food such as ornamental berry bushes.

  • Managing attractants at home or while camping is one of the most important things that can be done to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Keep attractants in secure containers, hard-sided vehicles or trailers, bear-proof canisters, locked buildings or behind electric fencing.

  • Items that may lure bears onto a property or campsite include:

    • garbage, compost and recycling;
    • berry or fruit-bearing bushes;
    • birdfeeders and birdseed;
    • food, dishes and coolers;
    • pet food;
    • barbeques and smokers;
    • outdoor fridges and freezers;
    • petroleum products;
    • livestock and backyard chicken coops;
    • toiletries; and
    • anything with a strong smell.

  • Call the 24-hour TIPP line at 1-800-661-0525 or submit a report online at Yukon.ca/TIPP to report aggressive encounters with wildlife, unusual animal behaviour or situations that could be a concern to human or wildlife safety.

Media contact

Tim Kucharuk
Press secretary, Cabinet Communications
867-335-2419
[email protected]

Linea Volkering
Communications, Environment
867-332-2688
[email protected]

News release #:
26-157
Department of Environment of Yukon published this content on May 28, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 28, 2026 at 22:57 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]