As conservation officers in British Columbia persist in their search for the three grizzly bears linked to the recent attack on a school group in Bella Coola, locals highlight a surge in bear encounters over the years in the secluded Central Coast community. During a press briefing on Sunday, Sgt. Jeff Tyre of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service disclosed that trail cameras had been deployed, and the search area had been narrowed around the 4 Mile subdivision where the incident occurred, as they believe the bears may return there.
Sgt. Tyre reported that only one bear had been sighted in the last 24 hours, far from the location of the attack. The attack, which left three students and a teacher hospitalized, transpired while a group of around 20 individuals, including teachers and Grade 4 and 5 students, were on a field trip and having lunch in Bella Coola, situated approximately 420 kilometers northwest of Vancouver.
Subsequent investigations by conservation officers indicated that a mother bear accompanied by two cubs likely carried out the assault. Residents of Bella Coola, a small unincorporated community surrounded by rugged mountains and dense rainforest, noted an escalation in human-bear interactions in recent times. Nuxalk Nation hereditary chief Noel Pootlass pointed out that a new population of grizzlies migrated into the valley around 2018 due to habitat displacement caused by logging, drought, and forest fires.
Pootlass emphasized that the bear population in the valley had significantly increased, leading to numerous encounters over the past seven years, including bears breaking into homes in search of food. Local resident Maryanne Gurr shared her experiences of encountering grizzly bears on her property, recounting a distressing incident where bears invaded her home and ravaged her food supplies.
Although fearful, Gurr expressed her reluctance to see the bears harmed and advocated for peaceful coexistence. The recent school group attack has reignited discussions regarding the province’s ban on grizzly bear hunting, implemented in late 2017. Conservation officers are focusing on identifying the bears involved in the attack and plan to trap them safely for further assessment with wildlife experts.
Residents have been urged to refrain from venturing into the 4 Mile subdivision, remain indoors, and avoid attempting to locate the bears independently. The fate of the captured bears linked to the attack remains undecided, pending further evaluation by wildlife authorities.