There has been an increase in black bear activity and human-bear conflicts in Whistler over the past couple of weeks, with conservation officers having tried unsuccessfully to trap a bear that’s believed to be responsible for at least two home break-ins.
Conservation Officer Chris Doyle said the same bear is believed to have broken into two homes in the Alta Vista/Blueberry area on Monday (July 12). In one incident, someone was home when the bear got in, and the occupant escaped out a window while the bear gained access to food in the house, he said.
A trap was set for the bear on Tuesday (July 13) and a conservation officer was in Whistler searching for the bear. The animal will have to be killed if it’s found, Doyle said.
“Any bear that enters occupied homes is a public safety risk and likely to repeat that kind of behaviour,” he said.
Other recent incidents include a bear stealing food from one of the snack shacks at a local golf course over the weekend, and a bear accessing food from the back of a truck at the athletes village on Tuesday, he said.
Whistler RCMP also reported that a bear had broken into a home in the 2600 block of Whistler Road in Nordic last Wednesday (July 7) at around 10 p.m.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in bear activity in the valley bottom the last couple of weeks,” Doyle said. “The types of conflicts we’re seeing right now are definitely a higher level of conflict than we saw last year at this time of year.”
As of Tuesday, 46 complaints about black bears in Whistler have been logged so far this month at the Conservation Officer Service, Doyle said. By comparison, 53 calls were received during the whole month of July last year.
“There’s definitely more activity than last year,” he said.
So far the 2010 bear season in Whistler is shaping up to exceed the number of complaints and conflicts in 2009. From April 1 to July 13, 182 black bear complaints have been received, Doyle said. By comparison, a total of 177 calls were logged for the period from April through the end of July 2009.
But the 2010 numbers are still down from 2008 levels, when about 330 complaints were filed from April through July, Doyle said.
Conservation officers are working to respond to complaints, frighten bears away from residential and developed areas, and investigate bear attractants that are being stored improperly, he said.
It’s important that people report bear activity so officers can intervene and try to deter bears from conflict behaviour before they escalate to home break-ins, Doyle said. With berries ripening in the valley bottom, bears will certainly be feeding in residential areas, so it’s “especially important for people to contain attractants,” he added.
Doyle also encouraged people in Whistler to keep ground-level doors and windows locked.
So far this season, conservation officers have killed one bear for public safety reasons and at least two others were killed in collisions with vehicles along Highway 99.
To report bear incidents, call (604) 905-BEAR or 1-877-952-7277.
