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All Whistler Articles
The death of Jeanie, Whistler's most famous black bear, last week is a "great loss for the whole community" - and one that was preventable, according to a local bear expert who spent 15 years watching and photographing the beloved animal.
VANCOUVER-The most famous bear in Whistler, B.C., is dead after being shot by a conservation officer. Jeanie the black bear, known for a triangle-shaped patch of white fur on her chest, a camera-friendly personality and an astonishing number of cubs in her 20-some years at the ski resort community, was killed on Friday after weeks of escalating conflicts. "We've managed this bear for quite a long time, but the type of conflict she and her cub were engaging in most recently was definitely a threat to public safety and beyond reasonable limits," Insp. Chris Doyle of the BC Conservation Officer Service said.
VANCOUVER-For years Jeanie the bear was the prized backdrop for tourists snapping photos in Whistler. Instantly recognizable by the white patch on her chest, Jeanie was comfortable with humans and was rewarded by lots of attention and sometimes even food. But over time, Jeanie became increasingly aggressive. Conservation Insp. Chris Doyle said she had to be moved out of the village and back into the mountains at least six times to limit her interaction with humans.
Video: A beloved Whistler, B.C., bear was shot after conservation officers say she lost her fear of humans, the CBC's Bob Nixon reports.
Whistler is in mourning for its most famous bear - killed by a conservation officer. Jeanie had brightened many a tourist's day, and even became an Internet sensation through YouTube videos frolicking on a glacier with her young cubs. But the celebrity bruin developed a taste for gourmet Whistler restaurant food, and the photogenic Whistler icon is no more. "People in Whistler have been following her for at least 15 years," said Sylvia Dolson, who befriended the photogenic bruin when she moved to Whistler.
The most famous bear in Whistler, B.C. has been shot dead by a conservation officer after weeks of aggressive behaviour. Jeanie the black bear, known for the iconic patch of white fur on her chest, was shot last week after being caught in a trap and tranquilized. Her cub was sent to the Critter Care Wildlife rescue centre in Langley for rehabilitation. Jeanie has been seen around Whistler for about 20 years and had been moved several times by conservation officers in recent years to an area along the edge of Whistler's boundaries.
Dear Editor,
RE: "No punchline to 'A bear walks into a pizza shop...,'" Question Editorial, Oct. 6.
I am the Bear Aware community coordinator for Whistler. I would like to commend Ms. Miller on her excellent editorial from Oct. 6.
The opinion piece highlights the severe consequences possible both to the bear and to the community as a result of the black bear wandering into Fat Tony's Pizza. Her editorial does a great job of describing the extreme level of habituation exhibited by the bear, and the lack of public education surrounding the incident.
Meanwhile bear calls continue to come in. On Oct.16 a black bear had to be euthanized after it was wounded by a vehicle near Function Junction.
The bear was found by a walker, and it made no attempt to stand up. The conservation officer service was called to dispatch the bear.
The B.C. Conservation Officer service is urging caution when traveling on foot and bike in Whistler after a cougar sighting on the Valley Trail last Thursday night (Oct. 6). Large male bear killed after entering house, attacking dog. New highway signs installed.
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. If you leave a door open or have latches a bear can manipulate then the animal will "enter" a building.
METRO VANCOUVER - Nick Didlick wasn't sure what to expect when he hiked into the thick rainforests of the upper Pitt River Valley and set up a remotely activated video camera on a trail beside a salmon-spawning channel.
The professional photographer and fishing guide recalls returning two weeks later, crouching down and peering at the small image on the camera and realizing right away he had captured something special.
"I looked and said, 'Oh my God, this is a grizzly,'" said Didlick, who first saw what he believed to be grizzly tracks in the valley in 2005. "I guess it wasn't a good place to be alone."
As if Whistler's resident black bears didn't already have huge challenges ahead this fall, an international media circus last week only served to trivialize the animals' plight and fuel public ignorance.
Reporters from Vancouver, across Canada, into the U.S. and as far away as the U.K. delighted in the story of a bear wandering into Whistler's Fat Tony's Pizza and eating several pies while onlookers shot video and laughed at the scene.
After years of actively working towards making Whistler visitors and residents more bear smart, as well as taking steps to make the town more bear proof, this week Whistler was recognized by the provincial government as one of only four "Bear Smart" communities in B.C.
Joining Squamish and Kamloops, the first two communities accepted into the program in 2009, Whistler and Lions Bay received the designation from B.C.'s Minister of Environment Terry Lake on Thursday (Sept. 29).
Local black bear researchers are predicting a wave of increased bear activity in the Village and valley this fall due to the worst berry crop Whistler has seen in almost two decades.
Experts are pleading with locals to be extra careful by safely disposing of garbage, not having bird feeders, keeping dog food inside and keeping areas around the house clean.
Jeanie is a Whistler icon. But the 20-something black bear with a swath of white fur across her chest and eyes that seem to be lined with shadow is unfazed by her fame.
She does her best to tolerate the town-folk who have unofficially adopted her. She is photographed by tourists, gawked at from chairlifts, edged off trails by mountain bikers and awakened by heavy equipment. She ventures into Whistler Village occasionally - when she needs food for herself and her cubs and can't get enough in the mountains.
Recently, I was drawn to reflect upon the work that I have been doing with the Get Bear Smart Society. We have seen some tremendous improvements since the 1990s and I am so incredibly proud to be a part of the bear smart movement.
Most of our success can be contributed to education. When people know better, they do better. When people make the connection between their actions and an outcome, they can adjust their actions. It is a process; part of realizing our role in our community and also as part of the greater ecosystem and our natural environment. It is about taking responsibility.
Secure attractants. It's a concept as simple as wearing your seatbelt, and yet for some campers in the bear-heavy areas around Whistler, it's not considered until after a bear has rifled through their campsite or vehicle.
But for those in the Cal-Cheak area, there's only so much campers can do without bear-resistant food storage bins.
In the Whistler area, Vaccinium berries - huckleberries and blueberries - are roughly five weeks behind, which means as we near mid-September there is no high elevation berry crop.
The highest elevation at which bears are now berry feeding (Sept. 9) is 4,200 ft, that's usually where bears are berry feeding in late July and early August.
Bears accessing recycling bins around Whistler Village this season is bringing concerns about bear-proof bins to the surface again.
"It can potentially be an issue," said conservation officer, Sgt. Chris Doyle, "and the more we can do to prevent to address human wildlife conflict the better, obviously - but an issue like this is a bigger problem (than can be addressed) in a short period of time."
A 45-year-old West Vancouver resident is facing charges under the Wildlife Act after he was seen driving through Whistler with two dead black bears strapped to the roof of his van.
On Sunday (Aug. 28) at about 7 p.m. Whistler RCMP received a report of a GMC van travelling south on Highway 99 from Emerald Estates with what appeared to be a bear strapped to the vehicle, said Sgt. Shawn LeMay. When police located the vehicle and stopped it along the highway near Whistler Cay, two dead bears were found on the roof.
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