Two massive male bears were shot Wednesday night within blocks of each other for posing a safety risk to the Port Coquitlam neighbourhoods where they had been hanging out to eat garbage and ripe fruit.
That brings the total of bears killed in the Tri-Cities this year to four.
And the local conservation officer responsible for bear issues in the region wants to work with the city to come up with a plan to deal with attractants to prevent other bears from being destroyed.
"We've got to get some plans in place for Port Coquitlam, get some compliance and a prevention strategy," said Sgt., Todd Hunter.
For weeks, he said, the two bears have been frequenting neighbourhoods near Coast Meridian Road in PoCo. Traps were set but the bears stayed away until their scavenging came to an abrupt halt between 9 p.m. and midnight Wednesday.
In both instances, the bears were deemed too much of a risk to be relocated and were destroyed.
One, a 500 lb. bear, was shot near near York Street after it bashed though a fence.
"When confronted, he presented aggression towards us," said Hunter, who said the bear had been hanging out in the neighbourhood for two weeks and was too conditioned to eating garbage and other attractants, such as ripe fruit, to be relocated.
Not long after the first bear was killed, Hunter was called to a home on St. Anne's after a resident called 911. Hunter said this second bear was also a large male bear that had been frequenting the neighbourhood but this one wasn't moving and may have been injured.
Hunter said he was concerned about the safety of neighbours and the bear's history of eating garbage ruled out tranquilizing and relocation.
"All the safety parameters were met and we decided that [destroying the bear] was the best option."
With fall approaching, bruins are making their way out of the woods seeking high-calorie food in neighbourhoods near greenbelts but some bears have been seen as far west at Lougheed Mall, said Hunter, who urged people to secure their garbage.
PoCo's manager of bylaw services, Dan Scoones, said messy garbage complaints have been down since bear locks were distributed in June but some people may not be using them and he wants to work with conservation officers on solutions.
"There's bears used to getting into garbage, now they can't get in and get what they want," Scoones said. "They are starting to roam, and they are getting assertive as to 'where's my food?'"
