Conservation officers capture bear in Coldstream after yard-to-yard chase

COLDSTREAM — After chasing a small black bear from yard to yard Sunday afternoon, conservation officers in Coldstream were able to capture the animal.

Officers received multiple calls about the bear after it was spotted in the area of Westkal Road, just down the street from Kal Beach. Two conservation officers responded and spotted the bear in someone’s yard chewing on a dead duck.

“One of the neighbours said he had gone into the water and was able to find a dead duck so that is what was keeping him in the yard,” says conservation officer Mike Richardson. “Basically we chased him for about three or four houses as he went from yard to yard.”

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The officers followed the bear until they were able to corner him behind a shed and tranquilize him.

Richardson says they had received complaints in the past about this bear which had become habituated to eating garbage.

“He was a typical garbage habituated bear. Those are the bears that sort of lose their fear of humans after a while because they eat the garbage that people leave out unfortunately and that is all they want then,” says Richardson.

Richardson says the bear was destroyed.

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The incident has promoted Richardson to issue another reminder to the public to take steps to avoid attracting bears.