By Vanessa Balintec

Despite recent bear sightings in Haliburton village the number of reports of bears to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry have gone down.

Year-round residents and cottagers posted to Facebook recently warning others of a bear in the area. However this may not be a common occurrence.

According to the MNRF this year’s bear calls are down about 20 per cent compared to calls this time last year.

“There have been 39 bears calls in the Bancroft district so far this season” said Jolanta Kowalski senior media relations officer. “That compares to 49 during the same period last year. One bear can lead to multiple calls.”

According to the ministry there are many reasons bear calls tend to spike during the summer.

Small bears that have recently been forced away from their mothers are looking for territories of their own while June and July are the peak breeding times for black bears and contribute to any adults particularly males moving around the area more than usual.

And due to a late spring there may have been delays in the ripening of natural food sources such as berries.