Earthquake reported off Vancouver Island

PORT HARDY, B.C. – An earthquake jolted the area off northwestern Vancouver Island, the second since Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude 4.9 quake occurred Friday morning. It was centred 158 kilometres southwest of Port Hardy in the waters off the west coast of the Island and was at a depth of 10 kilometres. The Friday morning quake follows a 4.4 temblor off western Vancouver Island and a 4.2 quake in Washington State, southwest of Seattle, both on Wednesday night. The Earthquakes Canada website says a magnitude 4 quake, especially at 4.7 and above, is strong enough to make walls creak and hanging objects swing. Baffin Bay and Kane Basin populations in about 20 years have found more bears than expected. There are an estimated 3,300 bears in the two regions, significantly more than population models predicted. But the study also found bears in the Baffin Bay area to be in poorer shape than they used to be. As sea ice declines, those bears spend about a month more on land than they used to, limiting their ability to hunt their favourite diet of fat-rich seals.