Bear hit by car in PoCo put down, cubs orphaned

A bear that was hit by a car in Port Coquitlam this week had to be put down, leaving two cubs orphaned.

The sow was hit in the area of Coast Meridian and Coquitlam Avenue Tuesday. According to the BC Conservation Officer Service, members received a call from the RCMP just before 11:30 a.m.

“Four of us got to the scene and located the injured sow and the two cubs. From there, we chemically immobilized all three of the bears for their safety so we could better assess their health and the health of the sow that was involved in the collision,” conservation officer Cole Ryley told CityNews.

He says the provincial wildlife veterinarian was contacted and informed of what happened. From there, Ryley explains the cubs were deemed “healthy enough to go to a rehabilitation centre,” with plans to be released next year.

“They were relocated to Critter Care in the Lower Mainland here, which was great. But, unfortunately, the sow had received such serious injuries to her back that she wasn’t able to walk. We had to make the really hard decision to humanely euthanize her — there was just too much trauma done for her to be able to go back into nature,” Ryley said.

Local Cindi Barnes says she witnessed the bear being hit by the car Tuesday morning. She tells CityNews she and her sister were driving down Coast Meridian when they spotted a cub running out into the roadway.

“We came to a stop and [my sister] went more in the middle lane and turned her hazards on and then honked on her horn to let people know behind us that we’re stopping for the cub,” Barnes said.

She says shortly after, another cub emerged from the bushes, with the mother bear close behind.

Despite her and her sister at a full stop, Barnes claims a driver coming from the opposite direction didn’t slow down, eventually hitting the sow as the three bruins were crossing the road.

“He just smoked this bear going so fast,” she recalled. “We screamed, my sister and I, because we were just pulling away at that time because [the bears] had passed where we were.”

Barnes says she and her sister turned their car around to go back to where the sow was to find the bear in the bush with her two cubs “cuddling around her.”

“I didn’t know what to do, I was so upset. I wanted to go back and yell at that driver,” she said.

Bear was ‘very healthy’ but ‘caught up in a very bad situation’: conservation officer

According to Ryley, the sow was just under 200 lbs.

“She was very healthy, I checked her over, she had no damage to her paws, her teeth were healthy, her gums were healthy, she was a very healthy bear but just caught up in a very bad situation,” he explained.

“We believe she was hit in the back end, the rear-end of her. When she was immobilized, I kind of assessed her joints and her legs to see where the damage was. She did have a very badly broken back leg, and even by the time we got to her and did sedate her, she had a lot of hemorrhaging in that area and onto her belly, which means there was quite a bit of internal bleeding.”

It wasn’t until later in the day that Barnes says she found out the sow had to be euthanized.

Barnes took to social media to share her frustrations with what she describes as “the indifference” and “carelessness” that she feels was on display. She claims many people often drive too fast along Coast Meridian, and believes this incident could have been prevented.

According to the Coquitlam RCMP, the driver involved in the collision was on scene when officers arrived.

“We did receive a report and police did attend on the day and spoke to the driver,” explained Corp. Alexa Hodgins, who confirms conservation officers were called.

“I don’t know the status of the vehicle but it doesn’t look like there were any injuries reported to officers at the time.”

Hodgins says the area of Coast Meridian “is frequently patrolled” for speed enforcement by the Traffic Unit.

“We do routinely attend Coast Meridian, as well as the Mary Hill Bypass, in Port Coquitlam,” she added.

Bears hit by cars ‘more than we would like to see’: BCCOS

Barnes, who is a nurse, says she felt compelled to stop when she saw the bear get hit.

“I’m a mom and those little babies (cubs), they have feelings, they care. Why do we call us mama bears, right? They’re fierce, they’re protective, they love. And just thinking that those little cubs saw that, it’s so sad,” an emotional Barnes said, her voice breaking.

“My thing is, you live with these creatures in harmony … I love all the animals here. This is their land, we need to respect them,” added Barnes.

While bears aren’t being hit on Lower Mainland roads every day, Ryley says this kind of thing “happens, sadly, more than we would like to see.”

Just earlier this month, a bear had to be put down after it was hit along Highway 1 in Abbotsford.

Ryley echoes Barnes’ reminder that animals, including bears, are in the community, and notes it’s up to people to ensure attractants are secured to limit conflicts.

“We have had reports of other bears that have been hit on that same road, but it comes down to us and the community bringing these bears in through unsecured wildlife attractants, and people speeding on the highways and not being 100 per cent cautious about what’s happening around them,” Ryley said.

“The message to the public would be, secure wildlife attractants in our homes and our communities so we’re not drawing these bears into our communities and giving them reasons to be on our highways … That’s the main message. The other message is: slow down. Put the phone down when you’re driving, and be aware of what’s around you. Know that we do have wildlife in our communities, we have pedestrians walking in the streets. We need to be very careful when we’re navigating our highways.”