The Tri-Cities continue to be a hot spot for bears as hungry bruins make their way from greenways into neighbourhoods, with the number of destroyed bears continuing to climb.
Statistics made available by the Ministry of Environment show as many as nine bears were destroyed in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam in 2013/2014 (the only cities where numbers were available), up from seven killed bears in 2012/13.
As well the number of complaints is up - from 1,761 in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam last year to 1,925 this year.
In all, 10 bears were destroyed in the 2013/14 year, compared to eight in 2012/13. All but one, which likely died in an accident, were bears considered a safety risk because they were hooked on people's garbage and other attractants.
"You're always going to have bears in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody," noted Conservation Officer Cody Ambrose, "It's when people start leaving stuff, such as attractants, fruit from fruit trees and garbage, it's going to pull them off their natural food source."
Conservation Officers have other methods to deter bears but they aren't always that successful. If a sow and her cubs get used to eating human food, it's hard to convince them to leave. Officers will try to haze the bear and will even relocate them, but Ambrose said moving a bear is rarely successful.
However, he said one older bear was successfully hazed out of Port Coquitlam into the woods recently - but not until it generated the curiosity of a phalanx of media and briefly shut down Kwayhquitlum middle school.
"As far as we know he's back in the bush," said Ambrose of the large male bear that is well-known to conservation officers but hasn't been a problem bear. "We had no conflict history with this bear, so it doesn't warrant being euthanized," he said.
Meanwhile, enforcement is up with more fines being slapped against homeowners who don't look after their garbage. The CO service alone has handed out more than two dozen $230 fines. In Coquitlam, the city has handed out over 500 warnings, double what was delivered last year, and in Port Moody, as many as 86 homeowners were fined for leaving garbage unsecured.
Port Coquitlam has fined six homeowners for wildlife attractants.
