A Kelowna woman spotted a black bear in the Black Mountain neighbourhood looking for food on Monday evening.
Jocelyn Hamilton told the Capital News she believes the bear was around a year old.
“It came through, checked my garbage can to see if it could get in and kept on trucking,” she explained.
Hamilton said it’s not uncommon to see black bears in the Black Mountain area around this time of year. Her spotting was at Garner Road and Lewis Road.
She believes this particular bear has been in the area quite a bit lately and she wants to remind the public to lock up their garbage properly.
According to Wildsafe BC’s Wildlife Alert Reporting Program map, there have been 14 black bears reported to have been spotted in Kelowna since the beginning of May.
The majority of bear encounters have been reported as food motivated, whether it be human garbage that’s attracting them or bird feeders. In addition to properly locking your garbage, Wildsafe BC warns the public to manage fruit trees and to have livestock or backyard chickens to be properly fenced.
The black bear is the smallest of the three bears found in North America. Although they are sometimes skittish, Wildsafe BC says they can be powerful and extremely agile hunters when needed.
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