Local wildlife officers killed three times as many bears this past year as the year before.
145 black bears were killed – one of the highest counts in recent history.
Almost half were killed at oilsands camps after being attracted by food or garbage.
Environmentalists are blaming oil companies for not storing garbage properly.
But Sustainable Resource Development says it was a failure in the berry crop that made the bears look elsewhere for food.
Published February 22, 2012
