The West Coast lost a black bear to habituation and food conditioning last month.
A large adult male black bear was trapped and killed by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service at Mussel Beach near Ucluelet on July 31 after causing significant damage and becoming a threat to public safety, according to Conservation Officer Andrew Riddell.
乌鸦传媒淭his bear just was not leaving humans alone,乌鸦传媒� Riddell told the VI Free Daily. 乌鸦传媒淚t was coming around young children and was certainly a risk to the public, so this one wasn乌鸦传媒檛 really considered a candidate whatsoever to be relocated.乌鸦传媒�
He said the bear had been on the Conservation Officer Service乌鸦传媒檚 radar for the past two years and had shown escalating signs of habituation and food conditioning last year, often being spotted in areas around Salmon Beach and Mussel Beach, showing no fear of humans or dogs and being unfazed by hazing techniques like bear bangers.
乌鸦传媒淟ast year, when this bear began showing signs of habituation towards humans and food conditioning, we aired on the side of caution and went out there and we educated a lot of people乌鸦传媒n the West Coast, we try to manage the people more so than managing the bear,乌鸦传媒� Riddell said. 乌鸦传媒淭he same bear returned and this year the behaviour of the bear was very concerning as it was ripping apart sheds to get inside of people乌鸦传媒檚 secure structures and standing in front of people who were having campfires.乌鸦传媒�
Terry Graff of Salmon Beach told the Westerly that the recreational community is accustomed to seeing bears, but this particular bear was menacing and wreaking havoc.
乌鸦传媒淏ecause he was so large and he was so unafraid of people and he began breaking into buildings, he became super dangerous. Unfortunately for this bear he did become habituated乌鸦传媒e was practically living in somebody乌鸦传媒檚 shed for a while because he got into their freezer once and then kept going back,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淲hen a bear starts to break into the shed where your garbage is, what do you do? I think this bear was just too smart for his own good and he had a liking for what people had in their sheds and he knew he could get in, he bent steel latches, he ripped doors off.乌鸦传媒�
She added that one Salmon Beach owner came home to find the bear on his kitchen counter.
乌鸦传媒淗e tried to open the door to get the bear to come out and the bear went 乌鸦传媒榚xit stage left乌鸦传媒� and out through a plexiglass window,乌鸦传媒� she said.
Based on the bear乌鸦传媒檚 behaviour, conservation officers set up traps at both Salmon Beach and Mussel Beach, where it was eventually captured.Riddell said conservation officers patrolling Salmon Beach were impressed with the attractant management they saw and he suggested the bear乌鸦传媒檚 addiction to human attractants likely set in irreversibly deep last year.
乌鸦传媒淚t wasn乌鸦传媒檛 this year so much that folks weren乌鸦传媒檛 securing their attractants, many of them did, but the bear was ripping doors off to get inside and get at their fridges and things like that,乌鸦传媒� he said adding no fines were dished out under the B.C. Wildlife Act for failing to secure attractants, but additional educational resources were provided to Salmon Beach residents to prevent another bear from becoming a problem.
乌鸦传媒淎 bear is 500 lbs and that plywood door just isn乌鸦传媒檛 going to be a prevention for a 500 lb bear to get inside. They乌鸦传媒檙e going to make some modifications, so we went on the side of education with the residents this time around.乌鸦传媒�
Riddell added that the West Coast乌鸦传媒檚 two WildSafeBC coordinators, Bob Hansen and Marianne Paquette are an 乌鸦传媒渆xcellent resource乌鸦传媒� for anyone interested in learning more about coexisting with wildlife and he encourages everyone to check out www.wildsafebc.com for tips and strategies on preventing negative interactions with predators.
乌鸦传媒淪ometimes, we get a little relaxed on how we should be controlling our attractants and it乌鸦传媒檚 very important to know that when you live on the West Coast乌鸦传媒t乌鸦传媒檚 very remote and very expected that you乌鸦传媒檙e going to have some sort of interaction with bears and cougars, so securing all those attractants is a must,乌鸦传媒� he said.
He added that anyone who sees a bear in a residential area must immediately report their sighting to the the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
乌鸦传媒淒on乌鸦传媒檛 post it on Facebook right away and not call us. It乌鸦传媒檚 always nice to let your community know that there乌鸦传媒檚 something in the area but, if you don乌鸦传媒檛 call, we can乌鸦传媒檛 come out and do some sort of preventive measures to move that bear on,乌鸦传媒� he said.
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