The BC Conservation Officer Service is once again reminding Tri-City residents of the importance of keeping garbage locked up after a bear was killed Saturday in Belcarra.
Officers work to drive home the bear aware message throughout the year but Sgt. Todd Hunter said it's even more important in the early spring, when there are few natural food sources available for hungry bears.
"There's not a lot of caloric options for them," he said. "The berries aren't quite ripe, they're feeding on green grass as much as they can but they have a stomach and there's only one thing on their mind: They like to get stuff of high calories and usually it's our smelly garbage."
Conservation officers were called to a home on Main Avenue in Belcarra shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday after residents encountered an adult male bear feeding on garbage that had been left just outside the home. One of the residents attempted to scare the bear off with a broom but ended up falling; the bear scratched his arm before running into the nearby forest.
"The bear reacted very aggressively after getting swatted with the broom," Hunter said. "Likely it felt it was threatened and cornered, and their natural tendency is to swat."
A trap was set up and while conservation officers were on scene investigating, the bear returned, a strong indication it was habituated to garbage in the area, and it was destroyed on site. Hunter said because it was accustomed to human garbage and had attacked a person, there was no other choice but to put the bear down.
The trap was left on site in case the bear had been travelling with a partner that may have also been habituated to garbage but Hunter said it would likely be removed Tuesday. The incident serves as an reminder of the need to be vigilant about keeping garbage and other food sources inaccessible to wildlife, Hunter said.
"A lot of people don't like seeing bears destroyed — and we don't like it either, none of us like doing it — but this time it had to be done to ensure public safety.
"If you're new to the area and you buy a big parcel of land, or a new home up on Burke Mountain, it is your responsibility to know" the bear aware regulations designed to keep both bears and human safe, Hunter said.
"Even if you leave it out one time, it moves on through the community and everyone does it one time and now we have a habituated bear."
And if you see a bear in your yard? Hunter said the best bet is to stay inside and report it by calling the RAPP hotline at 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 on the Telus network, or to call police.
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