A black bear’s attempt to move into a comfy winter home in Qualicum Beach was thwarted by some alert volunteers.
On Tuesday (Nov. 17), a pair of Oceanside Community Safety volunteers were on an evening patrol when they checked an RV in the Little Qualicum River Village strata.
According to a press release, as they drove by at approximately 11 p.m., they noticed movement coming out of a door that had been left open. The community watchers stopped and observed a medium-sized black bear walk out of the RV. They noted it licked its lips and ambled over to the side of the lot. It then stood there for more than 10 minutes, roughly 20 feet away, watching the volunteers.
The pair were finally successful in scaring the bear away so the RV could be checked for occupants. No one was home at the time, but the place had been thoroughly ransacked by the bear.
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The Conservation Officer Service was contacted and a report made. The volunteers checked back once more at approximately 12 a.m. and the bear had not returned.
The community was alerted through social media, which reported multiple accounts of the bruin in and on residential property in recent weeks.
The following morning, one of the volunteers was contacted by a conservation officer, who asked for assistance in obtaining permission from the strata to place a bear cage trap. The strata council was provided the officer’s contact information, and she was able to place a trap the next day. In less than 24 hours, the habituated black bear was captured and removed.
A cat living in the RV at the time was determined to be abandoned and the SPCA was advised and picked up the feline to provide it with proper care.
“The residents of the RV have been absent for quite a while,” read the release. “Given the bear was captured right behind the RV, he was probably intent on making it his home for the winter.”
For information on the community watch program, email communitywatch@oceansidecsv.org.
– NEWS Staff, submitted
