More North Shore bears killed as wildlife advocates call for more care
Posted August 25, 2020 7:42 am.
Last Updated August 25, 2020 7:49 am.
WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Wildlife advocates on the North Shore are frustrated that people aren’t being “bear aware” in their own communities, leading to unnecessary animal deaths.
On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the North Shore Black Bear Society says a 250-pound female black bear entered a home in West Vancouver’s British Properties.
“She had been finding food rewards close to homes and on one occasion she entered a home through an unlatched door,” the society writes on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/NorthShoreBlackBearSociety/posts/3102820366507524
The bear had evaded capture for weeks, according to the post, which adds traps were set, but catching efforts to catch the bruin were unsuccessful.
It was that Tuesday that the bear was apparently attracted to a chicken coop at the British Properties home, “and that is where her story ends.”
That was the sixth bear to be killed on the North Shore this year, the group notes, adding a seventh bear was apparently destroyed this Monday, Aug. 24.
“This bear would not have entered a home had she not been rewarded so frequently in our neighbourhoods by unnatural food sources such as garbage, bird seed and residential fruit trees,” the society writes of the bear killed last week, adding people are not adhering to advice to keep themselves and the animals safe.
“People are failing to act on our advice to secure or remove food sources and, many times, bears are killed in areas we have saturated with education for years.”
In #Squamish & across B.C., CO’s are seeing increased bear activity related to fruit trees. Please make sure you are picking your fruit & securing attractants to avoid facing fines: https://t.co/of4cKWQvXZ For tips, visit @wildsafebc pic.twitter.com/AwCsfoB4GC
— BC CO Service (@_BCCOS) August 23, 2020
Backyard chickens are allowed on the North Shore, though the society recommends installing an electric fence to keep bears away.
“…we strongly advise installing and maintaining electric fencing regardless of municipal requirements,” the Facebook post reads.
Electric fencing should be used for all “strong attractants,” the group writes, saying it’s up to people to secure attractants around their homes.
People are encouraged to keep windows and doors closed when they’re not in the immediate area. The North Shore Black Bear Society says bears are “typically polite animals,” but that “they don’t know that they are unwelcome.”
