Attacking Vancouver Island bear old, thin and sick
Larry Pynn
Vancouver Sun
Friday, September 12, 2008
CREDIT:
A black bear captured in Vancouver.
The black bear that attacked a man on his powerboat while docked in Port Renfrew was old, thin, and suffering from jaw damage and liver disease, the provincial Conservation Officer Service revealed Friday.
Gord Hitchcock, the service's operations manager for Vancouver Island, also said in an interview that the Port Renfrew Marina and RV Park had bear problems for two months before the Sept. 9 attack and had been repeatedly instructed to take action to reduce bear attractants, such as an outdoor garbage bin.
Hitchcock said preliminary necropsy results from provincial wildlife veterinarian Helen Schwantje suggest the "very aged male bear" had a thin body, liver disease, worn teeth, and evidence of an old jaw injury.
The bear weighed an estimated 175 pounds (80 kilograms). A tooth has been removed so the age can be accurately determined, but Hitchcock suggested it was at least 10 years old.
Individuals who witnessed the attack used gaffs, a knife and a hammer to subdue and kill the bear. The victim, a 52-year-old Saltspring Island man, was airlifted to Victoria's Royal Jubilee Hospital for treatment.
Hitchcock said Port Renfrew Marina and RV Park, which has a fish-cleaning station and campground, first lodged a bear nuisance complaint on July 6, and received "advice and direction" on reducing bear attractants.
The operation submitted another nuisance bear complaint on Aug. 15 and received more information.
A conservation officer visited the site on Aug. 22 for further discussions, and on Aug. 28 the operation called to report the bear, while not outright aggressive to people, was posing a more persistent problem.
Hitchcock said the conservation officer no longer offered mere advice but told the operation "you have to deal with your attractants."
A conservation officer revisited the marina on Sept. 6 and set up a culvert trap in hopes of catching the problem bear, and returned Sept. 7 to find that the bear had avoided the trap and continued to get into garbage.
Hitchcock said the marina operation then "screwed down" the wooden lid of the garbage bin to keep the bear out, and the attack occurred two days later.
The bear involved had no garbage in its stomach and it was unclear whether it was the same animal that had been seeking garbage at the RV park. No bears have been causing problems there since the attack. No one could be reached for comment Friday afternoon at the marina operation.
Meanwhile, a dramatic increase in bear complaints on the North Shore has prompted West Vancouver police to caution residents to redouble their efforts to not leave out attractants.
Const. Jeff Palmer said West Vancouver police fielded 87 public complaints about bears in August this year and another 52 so far in September, which compares with nine and two, respectively, in 2007.
Palmer said bears are bulking up their weight at this time of the year in preparation for hibernation, and a shortage of wild food sources such as berries may be forcing them into residential areas. Greater public awareness through the news media may also be partly responsible for the increase in nuisance complaints.
For further information, see
www.bearaware.bc.ca.
lpynn@vancouversun.com© Vancouver Sun