CSO asks Bear Mountain residents to lock down attractants after bear incident

The BC Conservation Officer Service is asking West Coast residents to lock up their trash and any other attractants after a bear got into another person’s trash over the weekend.

On Saturday, May 4, West Shore RCMP responded to a report of a bear entering a trash can in the Florence Lake area, an area notorious for urban bear activity.

“Of course we have problems with bears,” said Scott Norris, a CSO representative. “The main problem is that there are people who make their trash accessible to bears.”

Although there were previous reports of a bear being euthanized in the area, the bear left the area before officers used force.

“Officers did not kill the bear, but bears that loiter during the day and enter trash pose an increased risk to public safety and may be euthanized if behavior escalates,” he said.

He urges people living in areas with a lot of bear activity to lock up their trash, put away bird seed and store pet food indoors to prevent human-wildlife conflicts.

“As long as people refrain from using attractants and bears continue to invade, the risk to public safety will persist and will escalate over time.”

Currently, according to CSO, there is a family group of bears “making the rounds” between the top of Bear Mountain and Florence Lake and they want to start educational programs for residents to understand the attractant removal law and they will try , to begin enforcing those who continue.

Read more: ‘Real People with Families’: Former Saanich Police Officer Won’t Watch Virk Series