Malcolm Curtis, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 29, 2006

BEARS I Provincial authorities may be forced to kill nuisance bears caught stealing food from Tofino area campsites, according to a bear advocate.

Crystal McMillan of the B.C. Conservation Corps said bears have been stealing food off barbeques and exploring porches of resort cabins.

As a consequence, several bears have been shot.

McMillan said this highlights the need for both residents and visitors to take greater care with “attractants” — food sources that pull bears in from the wild, where they normally feed on vegetation, insects, carrion and fish.

McMillan is based in Ucluelet where conservation officer Ben York shot and killed a black bear last Friday. The animal had been hanging around the community for 18 months and had lost its fear of humans.

York said now he has set a trap to catch the bears reported in the Tofino area.

“If they continue to be in the camp sites and residential areas, I will have to put them down,” he said.

“It becomes a public safety issue.”

Every year almost 950 black bears and 50 grizzly bears are destroyed in B.C. because of conflicts with people.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006