Black bear takes swipe at jogger on Coquitlam Crunch
Posted August 30, 2020 6:37 pm.
Last Updated August 30, 2020 6:38 pm.
COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) — After a black bear was caught on camera taking a swipe at a jogger, a section of a popular Coquitlam hiking trail has been closed.
Video shot Saturday morning shows a black bear walking out of the surrounding tall grass and on to the paved trail where a jogger has stopped.
The bear slowly walks up to the woman and tentatively taps at her leg. The woman stays quite still, and when the bear starts to move in the other direction she runs away smiling.
After the video surfaced Sunday, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service closed the upper portion of the Coquitlam Crunch.
#BCCOS has closed the upper portion of the #Coquitlam Crunch trail after a runner was swatted on the leg by a black bear. The public is urged to be vigilant, take safety precautions and asked to report any bear sightings in the area to the #RAPP line. For tips, visit @wildsafebc pic.twitter.com/4PHPqnVdX1
— BC CO Service (@_BCCOS) August 30, 2020
According to the B.C. Conservation Officers Service, the total number of calls about black bears have increased in 2020.
In July 2020, the most recent month for which numbers are available, the service received 2565 calls. That’s up from 2565 in 2019, and 1651 in 2018.
The number of calls attended by officers has similarly jumped rising to 368 from 282. The rising number of calls corresponds to a rising number of bears being put down, with 76 in 2019 and 98 in 2020.
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Luci Cadman with the North Shore Brown Bear Society said a few factors may be at play this year.
With more and more people heading into the backcountry to shake off the COVID-19 lockdown, Cadman says we’re tramping into the bear’s home turf.
“And lots of bad behaviour by people. People going into these parks, and the forests, and the trails, and leaving food unattended, and approaching bears for photographs with their cellphones,” she told NEWS 1130 in July.
