Man bitten by black bear in Port Coquitlam; second Metro Vancouver attack in a week
A man was bitten outside his apartment complex on August 16. The bear was tranquilized and euthanized after it returned to the scene.
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A man was bitten by a black bear outside his apartment complex in Port Coquitlam on August 16 — the second serious bear attack in Metro Vancouver in seven days.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service officers arrived at the scene at 3 p.m. after the bear had already left. Later that evening, a black bear returned to the area, where officers tranquilized and transported it to a compound. Once confirmed as the attacking bear, it was euthanized.
The incident mirrors what happened a week earlier in Maple Ridge, where a three-year-old girl was mauled by a black bear on August 9. In that case, police at the scene shot and killed the bear.
On the same day as the Port Coquitlam attack, a woman hiking in Stoney Hill Regional Park on Vancouver Island was injured by a black bear sow defending its cub. Because that attack was defensive in nature, the bear was not tracked.
Also on August 16, conservation officers killed two grizzly bears in Nelson that had been entering residential properties. The bears showed food-conditioned behaviour and a significant loss of fear of people — one had been repeatedly accessing residential properties and non-natural food sources like fruit trees and barbecues. Two yearlings associated with the sow were captured and released at an undisclosed location.
The man bitten in Port Coquitlam and the girl mauled in Maple Ridge both had undisclosed injuries. The pattern of bears returning to attack sites has raised concerns about wildlife management in the region.
The facts
What happened to the bear that attacked a man in Port Coquitlam on August 16?
The black bear was tranquilized and transported to a compound by B.C. Conservation Officer Service officers. After being confirmed as the attacking bear, it was euthanized.
How many serious bear attacks occurred in Metro Vancouver within a week?
Two attacks happened within seven days. A man was bitten outside his apartment complex in Port Coquitlam on August 16, and a three-year-old girl was mauled by a black bear in Maple Ridge on August 9.
Why was the bear that attacked a woman at Stoney Hill Regional Park on August 16 not tracked?
The attack at Stoney Hill Regional Park on Vancouver Island was defensive in nature—the black bear sow was protecting its cub—so conservation officers did not track it.
