The bears are out and filling up on food.
But Coquitlam residents haven’t been reporting the bruins as much to the province’s Conservative Officer Service.
According to ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½'s environment ministry, the service has fielded 404 calls this year compared to 734 calls last year between January and July.
A designated Bear Smart city, Coquitlam recently issued some reminders to residents to help steer bears away from garbage bins, pet food, birdseed and fruit trees — the most common attractants for hungry bears:
- protect your picnics
- store food when you’re at parks
- protect your property
- lock the windows and doors (or gates) to where your garage bins are stored
- put your garbage bins out after 5:30 a.m. on collection day
- avoid rolling them out the night before
- put your food waste into the green cart
- it’s picked up weekly
In a release, Caresse Selk, Coquitlam’s environment manager, said city staff are patrolling residential areas and handing out $500 fines to homeowners who leave their trash out — even unintentionally — and draw bears to the area.
Bears habituated to human food cause a public safety concern, she said.
If you see a bear:
- stop and stay calm
- don’t scream or run
- make yourself look big
- talk in a calm voice
- back away slowly
- warn others close by
To report emergencies, like a bear is causing public safety concerns or damaging property, call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
📸 Have you seen a bear in your yard recently? Send us your images to [email protected] for online publication. Be sure to tell us where the picture was taken, as well as the name of the photographer (for credit).
