Bear spotted in East Vancouver near Burnaby border

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A bear is something you normally don’t see around East Vancouver, but the BC Conservation Officer Service confirms one was spotted wandering Wednesday morning.

According to conservation officer Erich Harbich, calls to BCCOS and the Vancouver Police Department started coming in around 9 a.m.

“[We] attended to a bear just around Bates Park, kind of in a residential neigbourhood, no concerning behaviours, wasn’t accessing garbage to our knowledge,” he explained. “But this was obviously in a really populated area of town.”

He says conservation and VPD officers worked to coax the animal north toward the shoreline, and then east away from the neighbourhood in order to avoid any surprise encounters with local residents.

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The black bear, which Harbich believes is about three or four years old, was last seen heading toward Burnaby Mountain.

“From there, the public safety risk was deemed to be as it was before, and the bear was kind of moved off on her own accord and away from people,” Harbich added.

Harbich says it’s definitely not a “preferred habitat,” but bears are periodically seen heading into that area of Vancouver.

“So it’s kind of a real stressor for folks and residents that, yes, we do see bears. We are a bear country, even on the Vancouver-side of the inlet, surprisingly enough. So we want to be extra diligent with our attractants.”

That means securing garbage and other things so bears aren’t drawn to neighbourhoods.

Reminder to secure attractants, be aware

It’s unclear why exactly the bear wandered into town, but Harbich says it could have been searching for something to eat or been attracted by a smell.

“They also have territories and they’ll use those territories and the space that they live in, so they’ll periodically wander from place to place as well. It wasn’t found to be accessing any garbage, which is really good to see, because it’s less likely to return if it doesn’t have that food incentive to do so,” he told NEWS 1130.

He adds the bear was very responsive to officers’ efforts to shepherd it back toward its habitat.

You’re reminded to give bears plenty of space if you encounter one. Harbich says it’s important you remain calm and back away slowly, while making yourself look large and speaking to the bear loudly but calmly.

“The bear’s going to want to disengage from that situation just as much as we are going to want to be away from the bear,” he said.

He notes the Bates Park area is a popular dog-walking area. He recommends keeping your dog on a leash in order to lessen the chance of conflict.