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Bear trap set for busy Coquitlam bruin

A New Horizons resident hopes the bear that has been breaking down her fence can be safely relocated

A Coquitlam resident is feeling relieved after conservation officers arrived Friday afternoon to set a bear trap outside of her house.

And though the large blue contraption isn’t the most attractive lawn ornament, Titi Molefe hopes it catches a bear that has torn down a gate and knocked down a fence on her New Horizons property.
“They heard about my bear problem and they looked at my history of calling and said once the bear starts coming back and forth, it’s not going to stop,” Molefe told the Tri-City News.

She hopes that the bear can be trapped and will be relocated safely, well away from the area that is just east of Coquitlam Town Centre.

“Maybe there’s a way to do this without harming the bear,” Molefe said.

Her family’s bear problems started in 2016 when a former neighbor left their garbage out and the bear grabbed the bag and moved it onto her property to eat the contents. In subsequent visits, the bear used her front and back yard as an exit and entry way to the neighbourhood located near the Coquitlam River.

The bruin returned in 2017, this time with cubs, and continued to traipse through her yard.

One night, her son almost tripped over the trio as he walked to the house from his car.

Police were called and the young man was advised to wait some distance away until the bear family left.

There’s less garbage around now and a new neighbor is taking better care of their garbage while Molefe makes it a habit to keep hers inside until garbage day.

But even so, the bear returned last week and it was the last straw for Molefe who contacted both the City of Coquitlam and the BC Conservation Officer Service.

Now that there’s trap, Molefe is more confident that something is being done to stop the bear from breaking into her yard. As for the fence, she may replace it with a wire fence instead.

Meanwhile, the city of Coquitlam has put out a warning to New Horizons residents about locking up their garbage. A map shows several bear sightings throughout the area.