Bear complaints nearly double across B.C.: conservation service
VICTORIA — Complaints about bears in communities throughout British Columbia have nearly doubled since last year, according to the provincial conservation service.
Officers received 8,900 calls about black bears between April 1 and Aug. 1 of this year, up from 4,900 such complaints during the same period in 2016, said Chris Doyle, deputy chief with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.
Hundreds of calls have also been received about encounters with grizzly bears, Doyle said in an interview on Wednesday.
Most of the complaints are about bears getting into human “attractants,” like garbage or fruit trees in developed areas, Doyle said.