A dog was killed by a black bear after being let off leash in a North Vancouver park.
Conservation officer Sgt. Simon Gravel said Monday the pet owner was walking her dachshund in the upper portion of the Lynn Loop trail in the Lynn Headwaters regional park at about 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Gravel said the park is on-leash only and had warning signs posted about bears and cougars being spotted in the area.
Although he wasn’t able to provide details of the encounter, he said off-leash pets in the wilderness can be a big hazard, and lead to “tragic instances.”
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“Over half of bear attacks involve an off-leash pet,” he said. “Pet owners should keep their dogs on leash and carry bear spray.”
Gravel said the bear involved was quite small, and not known to conservation officers and so would not be put down.
The province’s Wildlife Alert Reporting Program shows 187 cases of pets and livestock being killed by black bears in B.C. so far this year.
Learn what to do if you meet a bear in the wild.
