The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is warning the public after a bear took a swipe at an elderly woman outside her West Vancouver home.
The incident happened Thursday night in the British Properties.
Conservation Officer Dean Miller said the woman heard a noise outside her garage and went to investigate, not realizing that it was a bear trying to break in.
“The bear took a swipe at her, causing minor injuries to her arm, but she was quite an elderly woman,” Miller said, adding that she had to be taken to hospital to be checked over.
Miller said the bear and the woman likely startled each other and the bear’s attack was more of a defensive act than an aggressive one. Bears are highly territorial and will defend any food source they’ve zeroed in on.
“But it is still sign of aggression,” he said. “The outcome could potentially be much worse, especially for somebody who is a fragile person.… This is exactly an example of why we really do not want to have bears in conflict in residential areas, because it can create potentially very dangerous situations.”
Miller said they have not yet determined what to do about the bear, but making contact with humans is one of the criteria they consider when deciding whether a bear should be considered a threat to public safety.
Conservation officers did a sweep of the neighbourhood looking for the bear but as of Friday, had no luck. They also went door-to-door looking for any information about any previous run-ins with the bear and letting people know they should be cleaning up any bear attractants from their properties.
Miller said the woman did not have any major attractants outside her property, and the COS does recommend that people keep their garbage in locked garages until the morning of pick up.
But the North Shore Black Bear Society recommends taking even more stringent steps, including freezing all organics, thoroughly washing out containers and packaging, and washing out garbage and organics bins with vinegar after collection.
“Their sense of smell is so strong and that’s how they find foods,” said Holly Reisner, co-executive director of the society. “Then you don’t have to worry so much about the security of how you’re storing things, because we just don’t want the bear to be attracted to it in the first place.”
If a bear is on your property and accessing a food source, it’s too late to dissuade them and it’s unsafe to intervene, Reisner added.
“You have to wait until the bear is finished and allow them to leave,” she said. “And then, after the fact, work on reducing whatever it was that was attracting the bear into your property.”
Reisner said 2024 has been a fairly quiet year for bear activity with most reports of conflict coming from homes in West Vancouver.
The society works all year doing public education, advising people to keep their properties free of tree fruit, garbage, barbecue grease, bird feeders and other things that lure bears into trouble.
