Aspiring northern Ontario beekeeper loses hives to hungry bear
'I'm angry, more at the aerial spraying that has made [bears] not be able to have any food in the bush'
David Dubois was expecting a hive of lively activity in his brand new hobby apiary in Sudbury, Ont. this week, but what he woke up to instead was a scene of destruction thanks to a hungry bear.
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Dubois — who said he's been researching for this beekeeping project for four years — received his bees on Sunday. By Monday morning, he'd lost all six of his hives.
"He destroyed every one. He opened every one," he said of the bear.
Dubois, who lives in the Donovan area of Greater Sudbury, said he had an electric fence on order and was going to pick it up this weekend. But, he figured in the meantime, no bear would be desperate enough to root out the little bit of nutrition held in his brand new hives.
Despite the bear tearing apart about $4,000 worth of bees and equipment, Dubois said he can't fault a hungry animal.
"I'm angry — more at the aerial spraying that has made [bears] not be able to have any food in the bush. And they have to forego all their natural instincts and resort to coming in to an urban environment to feed themselves."
Listen to the complete interview with David Dubois here.
