Bear sightings are up across B.C. this year, and conservation officials aren’t exactly sure why.

"It's possible that the spring was a bit drier and there was less early season food sources for bears, but I can't confirm that,” Murray Smith, an inspector with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, told CBC News.

There were 12,000 bear sightings in B.C. last season, according to the CBC report. And so far this season⁠—which from April to November⁠—the wildlife service has already recorded 7,400.

This year’s increase in bear sightings is especially sharp in the Lower Mainland.

There were 4,500 sightings reported to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service during the 2018 season. And so far this season, there have already been 3,200.

"We're two-thirds of the way to the total number of bears we had last year, so we expect this year to be considerably higher than last year," Smith told CBC News.

According to Destination B.C., the top three locations to spot wild bears in British Columbia are Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary north of Prince Rupert, the Great Bear Rainforest along the northern coast, and the area around Whistler, just a two-hour drive from downtown Vancouver. (A list of the top-ten locations is available at Destination B.C.’s website.)

A B.C. Parks website explains how to spot a bear while remaining safe and not bothering the wild animal.

“Never store food, toothpaste, perfumes or items that have any odour in your tent,” it reads. “Never feed a bear. Never approach a bear. Never get between a mother bear and her cubs.”

Additional safety recommendations are available online. There are also links there to general information about bears and instructions for how to interpret and react to various bear behaviors.