Bear Notice – Shared on behalf of the Conservation Officer Service (COS)  

On Saturday, September 30 the RCMP and COS responded to a report of a bear in a house in Alpine. The bear was located inside the house feeding on garbage and had caused some property damage.

One week prior to this incident a bear matching the description of the Alpine bear was reported pushing in the front door of, and entering, a residence in the Emerald neighborhood.

Unfortunately, due to the heightened public safety risk of the bear entering homes, a decision was made to kill the bear.

This is an important reminder to residents and visitors of Whistler that bears are still very active and in a phase called hyperphagia. This means bears are willing to go to greater lengths to satiate their appetites in order to gain enough weight to successfully hibernate.

Keeping doors and windows closed when residents are not in a position to immediately close them when a bear appears on the property, mitigates the risk of a bear entering homes.

If you regularly see a bear around your property, please call the COS on: 1-877-952-7277.

The earlier bears are deterred from being around residential areas, the less likely they are to come across attractants or become comfortable around people.