B.C. Wildlife Federation Executive Director Jesse Zemen said last week’s Grizzly Bear attack in Bella Coola that injured 11 students and a teacher is part of a worrying trend.
The federation stated grizzly-human conflicts have risen dramatically ever since the grizzly hunt was terminated in the province eight years ago.
Zemen told Vista Radio there are several communities stretching from the southeast to the northwest that are now regretting that decision due to the spike in sightings.
“We’ve got a problem when we are in the woods. Bears that would we have seen historically that would have ran away are not running away and don’t seem to be afraid of people and there are other communities calling us saying I don’t like letting my kids outside because there are so many bears in my community.”
Zemen added if the hunt carried on, the school group likely would not have been caught in the cross hairs.
“I also think that having the grizzly bear hunt helps manage some of that behaviour and that some of those bears that exhibited characteristics that were more bold or less afraid of people, hunters would have chosen those animals lessening any sort of conflict.”
Since the grizzly bear hunt was banned in 2017, encounters involving them went from 300 to 500 per year to nearly a 1,000 according to Conservation Officers.
“Typically, these are learned behaviours. So, the sow will pass these traits or these behaviours to their offspring and over time we expect that there would be more conflict on the landscape,” added Zemen.
Last month, two hikers were seriously injured after encountering a grizzly sow with two cubs on Farm Cabin Trail near the Pass Lake Forest Service Road in the McGregor Mountain area near Prince George.
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