A young male bear damaged a so-called bear-proof garbage bin, stole a person’s lunch and led RCMP and conservation officers on a bit of a chase in and around Whistler Village this week.
Late Tuesday (July 20), authorities set up a culvert trap in the area surrounding the day lots in an attempt to capture the bear, which was estimated to be about two years old, said Dave Jevons of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.
“We’ve just been chasing the bear out of the day lots and he’s been showing up in the Village in the mornings,” Jevons said.
Whistler RCMP Sgt. Shawn LeMay said the bear is so small that some who have seen him have referred to him as “a cub.” However, it’s likely that he’s a young male who was kicked out of his mother’s den in the past year, he said.
Jevons said the bear has an ear tag, which means he’s been captured and released previously. If he’s captured again, officers plan to confirm his identity and then most likely relocate him, Jevons said.
“We’ll try and find out what the history is and perhaps look at a longer-distance relocation,” he said.
The young bear seems to prefer hanging out in the area around Rebagliati Park, the day lots and Fitzsimmons Creek in the afternoons and evenings, then coming into the Village in the mornings in search of food, LeMay said.
It has been reported behind several restaurants trying to get into garbage, and has several times gotten close to people, LeMay said. In one instance LeMay himself found himself about two feet from the bear. In another he was dangerously close to a family on the Village Stroll near the Town Plaza Gazebo.
“The bear appears quite comfortable around humans — maybe too comfortable,” LeMay said.
During a three-day period between Sunday and Tuesday, officers several times used bear bangets and/or rubber bullets to shoo the bear out of the Village and back toward Rebagliati Park and the Upper Village, LeMay said.
“It’s a pretty significant amount of time that we’ve spent trying to manage the bears that we share this valley with,” he said.
Jevons said one visitor to Whistler left his lunch behind and circled around behind the bear to snap a photo, only to have the animal steal his lunch. Also on Tuesday, officers discovered that a bear — probably the same one — had broken into the back a garbage bin along the pathway through Rebagliati Park, leaving the back door damaged and the bin scratched.
Bears that have become habituated to humans and human food sources are considered a threat to public safety. If you see a bear, please report the sighting by phoning (604) 905-BEAR or 1-877-952-7277.
