100 Mile House’s problem bear has likely gone into hibernation.
No sightings of the bear have been reported to the B.C. Conservation Office for the last two weeks. Conservation officer Joel Kline said evidence suggests the recent cold snap has caused the bear to go into hibernation away from town.
“The big reason the bear was still hanging around was multiple garbage cans that were not secured, so we had an attractant issue. The bear was obviously trying to fatten up before winter,” Kline said. “Since we had that cold snap we haven’t received any calls from the public so we’re thinking the bear has moved off and tried to hibernate for the winter.”
The bear spent most of the fall in and around 100 Mile House living off of garbage and was spotted several times by residents. Kline said it stayed close to town for easy food after it was hit by a car in early September, injuring one of its front paws.
In October, Kline and conservation officer Murray Booth were unable to trap the bear and announced they intended to destroy it. However, this proved easier said than done thanks to safety concerns and the bear’s nocturnal habits.
“We had put out some information to try and get some more calls to come in and help us track down this bear. We did receive some calls but most of them were in the middle of the night which made it very hard for us to respond in a safe manner,” Kline said. “We did get a glimpse of the bear on a couple of occasions but because it was in the middle of backyards it was very hard to safely deal with it at the time.”
On the occasions he saw the bear, Kline said it had seemingly adapted to moving around on three legs. Such cases aren’t unheard of in the wild and if this has happened the bear may be able to survive the winter.
Consequently, Kline said their plans to destroy the bear have been put on hold until the spring. If the bear continues to menace the community he said appropriate action will be taken.
“We’ll have to evaluate and make a determination on its health when it does come out of hibernation and just see what state he or she is in.”
Kline advises that the public continue to secure their trash over the winter and wait a week or two to put out their bird feed.
While most bears should now be hibernating he said they can still be active this time of year. Anyone who spots a bear close to town or has other wildlife concerns is asked to contact 1-877-952-7277.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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