A 91原创 man spotted a bear in his driveway on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 7, and it鈥檚 no stranger to the neighbourhood, he says.
Robert Currie sent photos of the bear to the 91原创 Advance, noting that it鈥檚 been seen in the neighbourhood feasting on ripening fruit.
He captured photos of the bear in the 20600 block of 95A Avenue.
鈥淚nitially, the bear was spooked and climbed halfway up a tree but eventually came down and wandered back into the Yorkson Creek watershed,鈥� he said.
Conservation officer Alicia Stark said the office has received calls about the bear 鈥� 鈥渁 couple each day.鈥�
So far the bear has been eating fruit in fruit trees and got into food in a compost bin 鈥渂ut has not shown any kind of aggression,鈥� she said.
Stark said she would be visiting the area to try and track the bear so she can find the spot where it goes to rest.
鈥淚f I can nail down a spot鈥� I鈥檓 really hoping I can set a trap [for relocation],鈥� she said.
The small black bear was likely born last year and this would be his first year away from its mother.
鈥淗e鈥檚 still easily scared off,鈥� she noted.
That鈥檚 a good thing for the bear. If it gets too used to being around people, it would likely have to be killed.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want it to become habituated,鈥� Stark explained.
She said the public can help by checking their property for things that will attract bears.
鈥淲e are wanting people to remove all fruit off their trees whether it鈥檚 ripe or not,鈥� she said.
Bears will go after unripe fruit. The other option, used by some property owners in places such as Maple Ridge and Coquitlam, is electric fencing.
People should remove bird feeders and any pet food, clean barbecues after use, and hide garbage cans, and compost bins until garbage day.
So far this year, the Conservation Office has received about three calls about bears, which is an increase. There鈥檚 been one call about a bear in Surrey. Calls from communities south of the Fraser River are rare. There are many more bear calls for communities on the other side of the river.
The Conservation Office鈥檚 24-hour hotline is 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP) or on cellphones dial #7277 to report wildlife.
The Ministry of Environment has the program to help reduce human/bear conflicts.
