Lori Pappajohn, Burnaby Now
Published: Tuesday, August 22, 2006

BURNABY - A black bear is living in Burnaby Lake Regional Park — a little odd for an urban setting.

But Burnaby was once a wilderness, and black bears were a common sight.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Burnaby was bear country, says historian and author Jim Wolf.

“Back in the good old days, the ladies and gents of New Westminster would don fashionable hunting outfits and head off to the wilds of Burnaby to go bear hunting.

“Trophy hunting was a popular pastime and an expedition to bag a bear could garner the successful rifle shooter a very fashionable bearskin rug to display in their parlour.”

In 1905, the Columbian newspaper reported that a 400-pound (180-kilogram) bear was shot near the Brunette River.

One summer, the loggers killed 13 bears.

“Seldom a day passed that some workman did not see a bear,” Wolf said, adding that the area also had many deer and elk.

Bears were a common sight in Burnaby well into the modern era.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006