David Burke, Whistler Question, August 24, 2006

The carnage for home-invading bears in Whistler continued this week.

For the third week in a row, and fifth time this summer, conservation officers were forced to shoot and kill a bear that had entered a home in search of food — this one having entered a second-floor apartment in Nordic Estates.

Chris Doyle of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said the incident occurred on Sunday at approximately 6:30 a.m. The bear, an adult male weighing approximately 225 pounds, is believed to have entered the residence by climbing a tree and walking across a roof, Doyle said. It was standing on a kitchen countertop eating when the resident encountered it.

“The bear looked at the occupant and continued eating,” he said. “The occupant barricaded himself in the bedroom, and called the RCMP.

“Both agencies attended. The RCMP member went in through the front door and fired a rubber bullet and (the bear) went out a window and onto a roof, then down a tree, and the CO was waiting there and shot it.”

The same bear is believed to have tried repeatedly to enter a home on Sarajevo Drive last Wednesday (Aug. 16), Doyle said. In that instance a resident held the bear off with a fan as the animal swatted at him, he said.

The bear that was shot in Nordic Estates was not collared or tagged, Doyle said. It was the sixth bear shot and killed by conservation officers in Whistler this year. Five of those bears are known to have or were suspected to have been involved in home invasions.

Sylvia Dolson of the Get Bear Smart Society said Nordic Estates is one of a number of strata complexes in Whistler having problems containing garbage. She said the complex’s garbage enclosure is not bear-proof and last year a bear managed to get inside and roll a dumpster down a hill. It was fortunate that no one was hurt in that incident, she said. “Once a bear gains experience breaking into sheds, homes are not a big leap,” she said in an email.

Marc Zurbuchen, Whistler bear aware coordinator, said Whistler bylaw officers have begun issuing warning tickets to stratas in an effort to ensure that garbage enclosures are bear-proof. “Both bins and enclosures around them need to be bear-proof,” Zurbuchen said. “For a property containing three or more housing units, they have to have a bear-proof enclosure for the bin.

“We are suggesting that they go with a more durable approach than just wood, with a cement foundation and steel doors, making it as bear proof as possible. And a non-wood exterior is one recommendation that’s proven to be more effective than wood. Bears have managed to rip that wood siding right off.”

To report a bear-related incident, please call (604) 905-BEAR (2327) or 1-877-952-7277.