As many residents are aware, a very large bear with a yellow ear tag had been active in the Village, wandering between Timbertop, Mountain, Bayview, and Bayview Place for the last few months.  Based on the tag number viewed by a resident, the Conservation Officers Service determined that this bear had learned to associate people with food by accessing garbage in another community.

While in the Village, the bear accessed several insecure garbage bins and also broke into sheds to eat the garbage stored within.  Recently the bear’s behaviour escalated to charging residents, thus creating an increasingly dangerous situation. Once a tagged bear becomes dangerous in this way the options are limited.

Hi Bear Watchers,

Please see below for the Bear Smart update about bear education at our school, Bear Smart Community Status, Trail opening and the Green Show.

Bears in Lions Bay update

There have been a couple of rumoured bear sightings recently and now a sighting April 17th of a large bear on Bayview Road.  Please report sightings to the office so we can track bears in the Village.

We’re having several Bear Smart events Spring 2011.

School Education

Our Lions Bay students recently received bear education about safety and food attractants sponsored by Lions Bay Bear Smart Committee.  On April 6^th Christine Miller, Bear Aware Educator for the North Shore, visited the Community School with bear presentations tailored to the student ages.

Before lunch, Christine presented a bear lesson with food replicas and bear puppets.  The kindergarten students participated by identifying unnatural attractants and wild food.  Much of the session was devoted to teaching the children ways to behave safely when encountering a bear.

After lunch, primary grades watched a power point presentation Christine created to teach older students about bear safety and human food bear attractants. The children were so interested in the information and beautiful photos of local bears, even the grade ones stayed still for the hour presentation.  Christine was very impressed with the bear knowledge our students already possessed and their eagerness to learn more.  Vice principal, Jody Billingsley, thanked Christine for a wonderful bear education experience and the Bear Smart Committee for their commitment to student safety.

Bear Smart Community Status

The Village of Lions Bay submitted its application for Bear Smart Community Status last December, 2010.  A committee comprised of Ministry of Environment wildlife experts and Conservation Officers formed mid April to assess our level of Bear Smart criteria compliance.  On behalf of the Village, Councillor Ruth Simons recently wrote to the Minister of Environment, Terry Lake, to let him know of our application and here is part of his response:

“As the newly appointed Minister of Environment, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Village of Lions Bay for the excellent progress that has been made toward bear–human conflict reduction.  Bear conflicts are an issue shared by everyone in British Columbia. While the provincial government retains the responsibility for managing bears, regional districts, municipalities, community businesses, and individual citizens are integral to effective community planning and management of attractants that lead to conflict reduction. The Ministry of Environment values the partnerships we have had as we recognize that we cannot resolve these issues on our own. A commitment from local communities toward bear conflict prevention is absolutely necessary.

The Village of Lions Bay deserves credit for their ongoing commitment to this and the success that has been experienced. I wish you luck with the application and want to thank you again for your involvement. I cannot stress enough the importance of local government and community support in the success of these initiatives.”

We expect news concerning the result of Lions Bay’s application for Bear Smart Community status this spring.

Centennial Trail Opening May 14^th

Residents will be hiking from the opening ceremony May 14^th at the Village Hall, along the new Centennial Trail towards a celebration barbeque on Brunswick Beach.  Birgitta von Krosigk and Norma Rodgers, as members of the Bear Smart Committee, will be distributing safe hiking in bear country cards en route.  These cards were designed and produced by Office Co-ordinator and bear committee member, Alex Hejduk.

Green Show June 11^th

The Bear Smart Committee will have a bear information display at the Green Show and Christine Miller from Bear Aware will be providing information about composting without attracting bears.

Please visit our May and June events!