Yukon conservation officers are advising residents of the Annie Lake Road area to secure any potential bear attractants and consider electrified fencing to keep a wandering bruin out.

A post on the Yukon Conservation Officer Services Facebook page states: “Residents of the Annie Lake Rd. area near Whitehorse should be aware that a grizzly bear has recently been accessing attractants. The bear has been into dog food, game meat, and freezers in the area from km 9 to km 25.

“Outdoor freezers should have lockable hasps, and electric fencing should be used to protect areas containing attractants.”

A photo on the post shows large bear footprints next to a 12-inch tape measure.

It also asks all Yukoners to contact conservation officer services at 1-800-661-0525 if there is bear activity in their area.

Environment Yukon conservation officer David Bakica said this morning the department was first contacted about the bear Nov. 9 after it had entered a dog musher’s yard for the third consecutive night, lured by the smell of salmon drying.

The musher had managed to scare off the bear each time by firing a gun.

On Friday, the department had a number of other calls about the bear from other mushers and residents in the area who had seen the animal.

It managed to get some dog food from one home and went into a freezer that was on the deck of another dwelling.

The bear also found its way onto property that had livestock, though it appears an electric fence may have done its job as the bear moved off the property quickly without getting any food.

The last report of the bear came from residents who said they had seen it wandering down the road and into the bush on Saturday.

Bakica said conservation officers were set to visit the area this afternoon to investigate whether the bear had gotten into any cabins recently. A number of cabin owners don’t live in the area and may not know about the situtation.

Bakica stressed the situation points to the need for residents to ensure anything that might attract a bear onto their property is secure.

It’s not unusual for bears – especially male grizzlies – to still be out until the end of November, especially if they know they “can make a living,” as Bakica described it.

The warmer weather the Whitehorse area seems to be experiencing may also keep some bears from hibernating until later in the month.

“You never want attractants out,” Bakica said.

Electrified fencing can go a long way not only to keep livestock in a yard, but also keeping bruins out of a yard, he noted.

It’s also important that attractants like dog food or livestock feed are in a secure structure and not a “flimsy” shed or the like that’s easy to get into unless they have electrified fencing around the yard.

“It’s about the storage of the food,” he said.

As Bakica noted, it does not take long for a bear to recognize a yard with dogs or livestock as a source for food, whether that be dog food or chicken feed.

“That’s like candy right there,” he said.

Freezers left outside at any time of year do not need just one lockable hasp, but several, to ensure the animals can’t get to that food reward they’re seeking.

A bear can easily tear off the top of a freezer that is locked with just one hasp, he said.

Despite conservation officers’ planned presence this afternoon, Bakica emphasized the best way area residents can deal with bears is by securing attractants and their property.

Bakica could not confirm how conservation officers will deal with the bear if they learn it’s been to more properties, noting “there’s too many variables” to determine that at this point.