Pressure’s on to live-trap grizzly
Officers race to catch bear spotted in West Sechelt area before it is shot
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is pulling out the stops to capture and relocate a grizzly bear that has been spotted in the West Sechelt area.
“We’ve already lost two grizzlies that were shot by hobby farmers and one by a hunter that misidentified it as a black bear,” said Conservation Officer Sgt. Dean Miller. “So this is the fourth grizzly in peril in a vulnerable population on the Sunshine Coast.”
The grizzly has killed and eaten a black bear and raided the area’s apple trees, but shows no interest in people or dogs.
Traps have been set near the kill site as well as on a farm where the bear was sighted.
“We are making every effort to live-trap this bear, tag it and move it to a more remote area,” Miller said. “I’m really feeling the pressure to catch it before someone takes a shot at it.”
Eliza Yates’ livestock guardian dog Andy was on the job with a vengeance Monday, when a young grizzly bear wandered into her West Sechelt property.
“He was working a bear down the property before I went out to investigate,” said Yates. When she walked to the bottom of her driveway, Yates was surprised to find Andy barking furiously at a grizzly bear, a species rarely seen in the Sechelt area.
Her video of the encounter has logged more than 34,000 views on social media.
“Since then we’ve had people driving up the road and in the driveway,” said Yates, who wants to discourage people from trying to spot the grizzly.
“It’s really not conducive to catching the bear.”