The seemingly care-free attitude of Westside wildlife continue to be captured on Instagram.
Jamie Armer’s account is riddled with close encounter videos of West Kelowna wildlife exploring, relaxing and foraging at his residence in Rose Valley.
Armer originally had two cameras, but installed four more to catch more encounters.
“Since the beginning of September, we’ve seen bears at least once a week, if not more,” said Armer.
“The deer practically live in the yard. The bears aren’t overly concerning to us because we don’t leave anything out and they’re usually just passing through. We just like knowing that they are there.”
A few years ago, Armer made headlines with reports of a young moose trying to break in. Since that scary incident, there have been few other wild moments in the neighbourhood.
He said that what’s really surprised them this year are how chilled out the deer have been.
Deer taking naps on the grass and being unbothered by the proximity to Armer and his family.
To several black bears getting nice and close in their explorations. One bear once strolled past Armer’s bedroom window.
Animal encounters in West Kelowna and in other parts of the Okanagan picked up over the summer.
There were multiple reports of large bears exploring close to houses and complexes, looking to raid garbage and scrounging for other sources of food.
Armer’s entire neighbourhood is very conscientious of the wildlife, doing what they can to keep food and garbage locked up and out of reach. He said that going above-and-beyond to protect the wildlife isn’t a problem.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, I’d do more if that’s needed,” said Armer.
“People know that the garbage is the easiest target and most of us do what we can to keep things locked. Making it a little hard for the bears to get things goes a long way.”
READ MORE: Bears roaming around Okanagan school, busy neighbourhood
READ MORE: ‘Garbage-fed bears are dead bears’: South Okanagan conservation officer
Armer’s Instagram also includes videos of coyotes, birds and snakes, simple evidence of the all the wildlife that share the living spaces in West Kelowna and the rest of the Okanagan.
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