Bear Aware Coquitlam
Coquitlam supports the provincial Bear Aware Program to help raise awareness of bears in the community and the steps residents can take to minimize the interface between bears and people.
Be Bear Aware!
- Keep garbage inside
- Compost responsibly
- Pick the fruit, pick up windfalls
- Remove unwanted fruit trees
- Store pet food indoors
- Keep your barbecue clean
- Feeding bears, even unintentionally, is against the law in BC. - Dangerous Wildlife Protection Act-section 88.1
More than 1,000 bears are killed every year in British Columbia because of bear-human conflicts. Almost all of these bears were attracted into neighbourhoods by improperly stored garbage and other attractants.
Exposure to humans causes bears to lose their natural fear of people. When this happens, bears become a potential threat.
The prime reason bears and people come into conflict is improper care of garbage and other attractants. We need to eliminate the source of the problem - our behaviour. People and bears are sharing space all over British Columbia. The bears cannot change, but we can. We can prevent conflict by making a few simple changes in our daily routine. Make it your responsibility to make our communities safer and to prevent the unnecessary killing of bears.
Resources:
To report an aggressive bear (bluff charging, damaging property, etc), please call the conservation officer service at 1-877-952-7277.
For more information on being Bear Aware contact the Urban Wildlife Coordinator at 604-927-3554 urbanwildlife@coquitlam.ca or visit bearaware.bc.ca