Bear with history of roaming for food in this Coquitlam neighbourhood dead

An injured bear that was fed for days by residents on Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain is now lifeless.

Coquitlam RCMP mentioned Mounties and BC Conservation Service officers had been known as to Kingston Road and Galloway Avenue on Wednesday, Aug. 14, after neighbours gathered across the damage animal.

Residents had given watermelon and different meals to the bruin since Sunday, Aug. 11, police mentioned.

However due to its historical past within the space, together with coming into garages to hunt for meals, the bear was deemed a public security threat and, because it couldn’t be relocated or rehabilitated, the bear was destroyed.

“Feeding bears is a harmful exercise that places public security in danger. We ask the general public to by no means feed or strategy bears and take steps to assist stop bear conflicts,” mentioned Danielle Bell of BC Conservation Officer Service, within the RCMP media launch. 

“Don’t give bears a possibility to entry rubbish and different non-natural meals, and assist maintain the group — and the bears — protected.”

The detachment famous that, as of June 2024, anybody caught feeding wildlife may face a positive as much as $575.

Within the newest case, no penalties had been issued because the residents feeding the bear couldn’t be recognized.

The bears are out

Caresse Selk, Coquitlam’s setting supervisor, informed the Tri-Metropolis Information immediately, Aug. 16, that bears are presently energetic with extra sightings on Burke Mountain and within the Eagle Ridge neighbourhood.

Metropolis workers are actually upping patrols round Coquitlam to fan out training and conduct enforcement “with tickets being issued for unsecured attractants and rubbish/inexperienced carts set out the night time earlier than assortment,” Selk mentioned whereas providing the next tricks to Coquitlam householders and tenants:

• safe storage/inexperienced waste inside a storage or shed
• place carts and bins out for assortment after 5:30 a.m. on assortment day — not the night time earlier than
• choose ripe fruit and clear any dropped fruit from the bottom each day
• by no means feed wildlife

And for parks customers and picnic-goers, don’t go away meals unattended and pack out what you pack in.

In Port Coquitlam, workers report town has had 227 requires service since Jan. 1, 2024, about:

• unsecured assortment carts
• leaving carts out on streets earlier than pickup instances and dates
• no preventative measures for wildlife attractants on properties

Consequently, town has issued 48 infraction tickets to these flouting the bylaws.

For extra details about bear security and rubbish laws, you possibly can go to Coquitlam’s and Port Coquitlam’s web sites.

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