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All Whistler Articles
Looking back over a year's worth of Whistler headlines, it's pretty clear what some of the top stories were in 2011: pay parking, sled dogs and the municipal election.
But those three attention-grabbing topics certainly weren't the only issues in what seemed to be a pretty newsy year - .............and a bad year for Whistler's black bears, including the death of local icon Jeanie, also grabbed a fair share of the headlines over the last 12 months.
Voted the best of by Whistlerites in various categories.
Deaths due to human-bear conflict reach a 10-year high Wildlife
Photo by Sylvia Dolson / www.bearsmart.com
Longtime Whistler icon Jeanie, seen here at right with cub Jeanette earlier this year, was one of 14 bears killed so far in Whistler due to conflict. Another black bear was killed last week in Whistler after getting into conflict with people - marking the 14th bear to be destroyed by conservation officers so far this year. That's the highest number of conflict bears to be killed in a single year in Whistler in more than a decade, according to statistics kept by Sylvia Dolson, executive director of the local Get Bear Smart Society. The last time more bears were killed was 1999 when the year's total reached 19.
Get Bear Smart hoping to fund two memorial programs for Jeanie the bear. Volunteers are stepping up to help several charity organizations in Whistler as the community draws together for the holidays. Already 1,400 volunteer hours have been registered through the SHARE Whistler campaign, which comes to an end Dec. 28.
Every once in a while something happens that shakes everything I thought I knew about Whistler's heritage. Recently, the museum uncovered a revelation that has shaken me to the core. I'm sure by now you've heard the story of Myrtle Philip and the orphaned bear cub she raised named Teddy Bear. You've probably seen the photos of Teddy clinging to the legs of Rainbow Lodge guests or standing upright on his tiny legs. One photo in particular always caught my attention - a bear cub snuggled up in apparent contentment with a pig. The story always went that Teddy and the pig were best friends... until Teddy ate him. I admit there was never any historical evidence as to the validity to this tale, but I firmly believed and loved the story because it tickled my morbid funny bone. However, we received shocking news during an oral history interview with Norm Barr, who is the son of former Parkhurst Mill owners Ross and Alison Barr, that at one time there was another bear cub living in Alta Lake. This bear's name was Molly and her best friend was McGee - a piglet that had been bought by a young girl named Betsy (DeBeck) Henderson.
Province to amend wildlife act - The province introduced a new amendment to the Wildlife Act on Monday, Nov. 14 that, if passed, could result in fines of $230 for "the mismanagement of attractants (such as food, compost and garbage waste) that could invite dangerous wildlife, such as grizzly and black bears, cougars, coyotes and wolves." The change was part of an omnibus bill by the Attorney General and is not yet law.
Reading the editorials and articles about Jeanie the bear and the circumstances leading up to her death paints a very disturbing picture (Pique Oct. 27). How is it possible that all the restaurants mentioned, which have been in this town for years are incapable of managing their food waste? Let's start with the biggest corporate entity here, Whistler Blackcomb. Two of its restaurants were "broken into" by Jeanie. How do you break into the Roundhouse or the GLC? Buildings with rock and steel cladding, steel fire doors and wire-reinforced glass? You don't.
Once in awhile opportunities come along to do the right thing. A death is usually a time when you ponder life and make decisions about how and why a life was lived. Likely with the exception of a few, most people in Whistler have already moved on and forgotten Jeanie, one of Whistler's most photographed and celebrated bears, killed by Conservation officers a few weeks back. I think the troubling thing is that over the winter when the bears are asleep everyone will forget why she was killed. She was destroyed, as are many other bears every year, because she was repeatedly and consistently able to access waste and human food within the RMOW.
I find it hard to believe that Whistler has become a Bear Smart community. I know that there are a lot of people here in Whistler that have worked hard at this, but we couldn't be farther away from Bear Smart as we are right now. We just lost one of our most recognized bears a few weeks ago. A few weeks before we had a bear in a pizza shop and that shop is still open for business, no fine or temporary shut down to hurt the bottom line.
Yes it's sad that yet another problem bear has been destroyed. "Jeanne is Gone" (Pique Oct.27). What is even sadder is that we created a situation where we publicly popularized, humanized, marketed and ultimately contributed to her death. This bear was exploited by the very people that wanted to protect her.
Cub will likely be released into the wild next summer. Jeanie the black bear's remains have been returned to the wilds of Whistler and her cub will one day return to the wild as well. Whistler's best known bear was destroyed by the conservation officer service on Oct. 21 after weeks of escalating human conflict that included breaking into occupied restaurants to get food. Jeanie's cub - named Jeanette after an informal poll on Jeanie's Facebook page - was sent to the Critter Care Wildlife Facility in Langley. The cub is being fed twice a day and is in a pen with five other bear cubs. Gradually feedings will be reduced to once a day, then every three days, and then every three weeks to encourage the bears to hibernate.
I was and am still feeling much despair after learning the news of Jeanie's death, and that her baby cub had to be taken away from the greatest love of her little life. How terribly sad. Just before hibernation too. I have lived here now for seven years, and each year it has become more and more taxing to learn of how many bears are ending up dead due to careless drivers or garbage/human food being left accessible by us humans.
Thank you for your recent article on Jeanie the bear. I have become increasingly saddened and disgusted by the "bear management" activity in the Sea to Sky. It seems to me that the conservation officers are too quick to pull out their guns, and although the say they have attempted to "relocate" the bears, ultimately their efforts are not good enough, and they do not adequately target all the stakeholders who need to be involved in bear management. If we keep shooting bears when they search for food, we are missing the point, which is to create a community that coexists with animals in their natural habitat.
One of Whistler's most well-known and loved iconic tourist attractions has been shot and killed in the name of human safety. Shame on Whistler! Will the resort just create another Jeanie and another? My sincere wish for Whistler and its wildlife is that the powers that be finally have bear-proof dumpsters installed every 15 or so homes for daily use by both residential and commercial residents like Canmore has had since the '90s. Canmore rarely kills a bear since they installed dumpsters everywhere and they have one of the lowest budgets for waste disposal of any community.
Jeanie was laid to rest in the favourite part of her home range last Wednesday (Oct. 26). A blanket of snow now covers her final resting place and a large rock marks her grave. Her daughter, Jeanette (so named by Jeanie's Facebook fans), is being cared for at Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley. According to Critter Care's website, after her arrival to the shelter on the evening of Oct. 20, staff put Jeanette in a nice warm shed with food and water. After such a traumatic day, Jeanette did exactly what staff wanted her to do - she ate, drank and slept.
To borrow a line from Mark Twain, "The reports of my attack have been greatly exaggerated." I feel an obligation to the efforts of bear awareness advocates to recount this tale as it happened for all to read so you'll know.
A heavy bar has finally been welded across the garbage-room door at one village eatery so bears can't get in and slather up oil and other human-rejected food that is oh so irresistible to the ursine creatures we share this valley with. Sadly it seems to have taken the killing of one of Whistler's most beloved bears, Jeanie, for this action to be taken. Don't get me wrong - I'm not just blaming the eateries that Jeanie targeted in her last few weeks of life for her ultimate demise-I'm laying the blame on the whole community.
After three weeks of conflict behaviour conservation officer Chris Doyle said there was little choice left but to destroy Jeanie. She was caught in a trap by the conservation office service, tranquilized and then killed with a gunshot. Her cub was sent to the Mountain View Wildlife Conservation centre in Langley for rehabilitation and will eventually be released back into the wild on Whistler Mountain.
Dear Editor: I would like to express my sympathy to the community of Whistler concerning Jeanie's death......
Jeanie, the black bear who captured the hearts of both Whistler locals and international tourists, was more than a beloved icon. She was more than a beautiful but tolerant model for thousands of keen photographers, more than a protective and loving mother bear and more than a 250-pound "problem." True, she has been labelled all of the above, but the legacy she leaves will be more all-encompassing. Jeanie will be remembered for what she taught us.
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