Six black bears killed on North Shore this season after foraging for human food

Six black bears have been destroyed on the North Shore this season after incidents where the animals broke into garages or homes in search of easily accessible food, according to the North Shore Black Bear Society. The number is higher than previous years and reflects what the society describes as a troubling trend of bears venturing further into urban areas.

"It's been a very, very busy year for bear activity. Not just on the North Shore but through the whole region," said Holly Reisner, executive director of the society.

Two additional bears died after being struck — one by a train and one by a vehicle on the highway. Another bear was found dead with no known cause.

The most recent killing occurred Tuesday morning, Sept. 29, when North Vancouver RCMP shot and killed a black bear in Lower Lonsdale near First Street and Lonsdale Avenue after residents spotted it and called 911. The bear showed no sign of fear when approached and had been eating from nearby garbage bins. RCMP Const. Paul Reece said there was too much danger of a "significant conflict" between people and the animal, particularly given other Lower Mainland incidents that resulted in injuries. "Based on that, we felt the most appropriate course of action for public safety was to euthanize the bear."

The bear was the third destroyed in a week. On Sept. 27 around 10 p.m., a large male bear entered a garage in Seymour Heights and was shot. Reisner said the bear may have tried accessing other garages in the neighbourhood first. Earlier in the season, three bears were destroyed in similar incidents in West Vancouver, including one that entered a kitchen and another that broke a wall to reach a garage.

Reisner emphasized that bears' sense of smell is extraordinary. "It really only takes five minutes," she said of their ability to locate food. Bears sometimes break garage doors to access refrigerators or freezers inside. "It sounds dramatic, but if you think of what a bear does in the wild – tear up logs or flip boulders to find food – there's really no difference from the bear's point of view. It can smell something on the other side of this structure and it's got the tools to access that food."

A female bear with an ear tag was shot by conservation officers after entering a home in the Lynn Canyon area. Bears that enter homes, garages or vehicles are considered high risk by conservation offices and almost always result in destruction.