Saskatoon man has a special bond with black bears

Thursday, April 9, 2015, 1:22 PM - An encounter with a black bear six years ago changed the way Saskatoon's Kent O'Grady sees the animals.

What began as a fascination has now developed into something that scientists and experts call dangerous. O'Grady feeds the animal and interacts directly with the black bears.

"I've been very close and we've engaged in all kinds of behavioural observations," Grady said, according to the CBC.

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O'Grady has been up close and personal with about 70 black bears, working alongside Dr. Lynn Rogers who has more than 45 years studying these animals.

While O'Grady is happy about his interactions, he's aware that many dangers are attached to getting so close to the bears.

"The thing that you must understand is feeding bears in Saskatchewan is illegal. Do not attempt this at home. It's not something that is ever to be done under any circumstances unless you are in a controlled, scientific environment.

To feed the bears, O'Grady travels to Minnesota.

But not everyone agrees

Dr. Lynn Rogers is not without controversy. Nicknamed "Bear Man", Rogers is the founder of the Wildlife Research Institute and the North American Bear Center (NABC). As far as black bears go, few have worked more with the animal than Rogers. Which made it even more controversial when the Department of Natural Resources refused to renew Roger's permit to collar the bears and to add webcams to the bears' dens.

After a back and forth involving even famous primatologist Jane Goodall, a judge ruled that the DNR was correct in refusing his renewal.

But O'Grady thinks that Rogers knows what he's doing.

"The trust that Dr. Rogers develops with these bears is not transferable to other humans. When the bear sees that human, they will not recognize that human and will tend to run away."

Source: CBC News

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