A black bear was spotted outside Chartwell Malaspina late Tuesday, Dec. 7, hunting for food through the care home's garbage and organic waste. (submitted photos/Tanya Annikki)

By Alex Rawnsley

bear aware

Conservation officers track food-conditioned bear after sightings in Chase River

Dec 8, 2021 | 5:06 PM

NANAIMO — A black bear is hunting for easy meals in and around south Nanaimo.

The animal was seen around Chartwell Malaspina in Chase River at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

Anne Mielty, who works at Chartwell Malaspina became aware of the situation through her co-worker, who took photos safely from inside.

“It was trying to get into our compost bins at the back, it went around to the front parking lot right behind Country Grocer, then it headed up our driveway past the front entrance towards Junction Ave.”

Mielty said the whole encounter lasted about 15 minutes, but occurred just before staff were set to go into the parking lot to leave for the evening.

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No damage was reported as a result of the incident.

A bear at Chartwell Malaspina in Chase River sifted through garbage bins in search of an easy meal around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7. (submitted photo/Tanya Annikki)

Sgt. Stuart Bates of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service told NanaimoNewsNOW they’ve set a trap and are hoping to find the animal before any further interactions.

“He’s been around for a while and we’ve tried to deal with it by having people secure their attractants but now the bear’s behaviour has escalated to the point where we have to set a trap for it.”

Bates added bear calls have escalated dramatically through the last few months of the year, to a point where it’s the most in his 10-year stint in Nanaimo with the COS.

Nanaimo has accumulated 146 bear-related calls this year, including 15 so far in December. The city saw 14 bear calls between July and September with nearly 60 in October and November combined.

Across the central Island, encompassing Nanaimo, Oceanside, Ladysmith, Port Alberni and the west coast of Vancouver Island, 1,066 calls for bears have come in since Apr. 1.

The previous fiscal year, from April 1, 2020 to Mar. 31, 2021 saw 495 bear calls on the central Island.

Bates said securing attractants properly and keeping an ongoing dialogue with neighbours is a vital step with bears being incredibly adept at sourcing an easy meal.

“We’re starting to see people try to keep their garbage secure by keeping it outside and keeping it near the door and the bear accessing the house through the door. We’ve had a few cases of that, one in Nanaimo as a matter of fact.”

Bates added calling them as soon as you see a bear is important, with officers frustrated after receiving calls of bears who have hung around an area for days or weeks.

Many are concerned about CSO’s having to destroy the animal, but their delay ultimately seals its fate.

“Once the bear is food-conditioned and human habituated, they’ve lost the fear of people and learned to associate people with food, it’s a foregone conclusion what’s going to happen to that bear.”

Early intervention from Conservation Officers, triggered by calling the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line at 1-877-952-7277, is the best chance for a bear to be relocated rather than destroyed.

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alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley