The conservation officer involved the shooting of a black bear at Campbell RiverB次元官网网址檚 Discovery Harbour Marina on Friday felt the gathering crowds and the stress put on the bear created too great a risk to the public.
B次元官网网址淚t is important to stay well back from wildlife,B次元官网网址� Sgt. Mike Newton said in a statement to the Mirror. B次元官网网址淎lthough human nature is to get a closer look and photograph wildlife, doing so can often add to the animalB次元官网网址檚 stress level. It is possible that in this case, with the large crowds forming and watching, the bear may have felt forced to leave the breakwater in search of an escape route.B次元官网网址�
The B次元官网网址渕edium-sizedB次元官网网址� black bear was first spotted on the marina breakwater Friday morning, looking tired, leading to speculation that it might have been swimming in Discovery Passage, perhaps even trying to cross to Quadra Island. Either that, or it came out of the Campbell River estuary, which is just north of the marina, marina harbourmaster Brad Drake said.
B次元官网网址淧ossibly why he was resting under the sign. He looked pretty tired under there. I can only assumeB次元官网网址nless he came from the estuary way,B次元官网网址� Drake said.
Sgt. Newton evaluated the situation and, based on the bearB次元官网网址檚 behavior and its location, he decided it would be best to keep the public well away and leave the bear on the breakwater to recover. Then as darkness fell, the bear could leave and access a nearby green space.
But sometime later, the bear got up and swam to the dock at the Discovery Harbour Marina. The bear began running up and down the quays and became increasingly agitated, Newton said.
B次元官网网址淭he bear was exhibiting extremely nervous behavior,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎t this point, the bear entered an occupied business located on the dock, whose patrons were aware of the situation and had been watching the events unfold.B次元官网网址�
The business was Campbell River Whale Watching and Adventure Tours and a security video showed the bear coming right into the companyB次元官网网址檚 storefront on the marina for a brief moment.
Newton was able to coax the bear from the building and attempted to herd it toward a less populated area, away from the large crowd which had continued to gather.
B次元官网网址淵eah, thereB次元官网网址檚 lots of people coming to look at it and stuff at the end of the dock there,B次元官网网址� Drake said. B次元官网网址淟ots of boats around.B次元官网网址�
The bear was getting increasingly annoyed with Sgt. Newton following him, and became very aggressive to the Conservation Officer. In the interest of public safety, Sgt. Newton elected to put the bear down.
B次元官网网址淭he public is reminded that wildlife can be unpredictable and that such situations are high risk to the public,B次元官网网址� Newton said.
Newton commended the Discovery Marina staff who he said were an excellent help in keeping the crowds back and helping to educate people on the dangers of human-wildlife interactions.
