A bear that showed no fear of humans was put down by conservation officers in Nanaimo last weekend.
The animal was shot near the Pacific Biological Station in Stephenson Point on Saturday afternoon after it was confronted by several people, went through garbage as it wandered through backyards and got into an altercation with a dog.
Troy Sterling, conservation officer, said his office received initial reports about the bear at approximately 9 a.m. when the animal was down in the Neck Point area.
“We followed him down to Stephenson Point, to the steps that lead down to the water at the end of Stephenson Point Road, and we lost sight of him,” Sterling said.
Figuring the bear might walk along the beach toward the biological station, conservation officers decided to wait for the animal there.
“We parked around back and caught up on some notes and files as we were waiting and as we left he was sitting on the front lawn of the biological centre next to Hammond Bay Road,” Sterling said. “It was daylight hours, midday, didn’t show a lot of fear. He did move on a little bit, but was reluctant to leave the area … He was showing signs of being habituated [to humans] so he was dispatched.”
No one was hurt in any of the encounters with the bear and Sterling said he understood there was fence between the dog and bear in that confrontation.
Sterling said he believes there might be a second bear in north Nanaimo, which he tracked for a few hours Friday night until the animal made its way into a wooded area away from people near Rutherford and Oliver roads. That bear and the one that was shot may have been competing for a female.
Residents on McGirr Road also reported Wednesday that a bear was seen near Hammond Bay Road on Monday evening, and in the Yellow Point area south of Nanaimo, a resort has posted signs warning its patrons about a bear that also appears comfortable around humans.
Two other bears, one in Extension, south of Nanaimo and another near Bowser, north of Qualicum, have been destroyed by conservation officers in recent weeks.
Sterling said, in his opinion, this year’s cold spring weather delayed growth of natural food sources bears seek out in the spring. The bear population near urban areas might have also increased over the past year. About 15,000 black bears live on Vancouver Island.
But the consistent primary cause of bears becoming habituated to humans is garbage and pet food being left outdoors in unprotected containers.
Sterling urges anyone who spots conditions that could lead to the unnecessary death of a bear, please call the Report All Poachers and Polluters line at 1-877-952-7277.
photos@nanaimobulletin.com