COQUITLAM, B.C., March 14, 2024 – Bear sightings have popped up across the community over the past week—now is the time to ensure you secure household attractants to keep bears seeking natural food sources.
Be a Bear Smart Household
With bears waking up, families embarking on spring break activities and children at home on school break, the City is asking all households to follow the City’s Bear Smart guidelines:
- Store Garbage Carts, Green Carts and recycling in a garage or fully-enclosed structure inaccessible to wildlife, such as a heavy-duty shed or chain link fence with a roof.
- Green Cart clips are not bear proof and should not be used to secure carts outside.
- Freeze meat and strong-smelling food scraps until collection day.
- Put all food scraps in the Green Cart, not the Garbage Cart.
- Place carts and recycling at the curb after 5:30 a.m. on collection day.
- Keep your Green Cart and Garbage Cart clean between collection days.
- Keep freezers and refrigerators indoors.
- Keep pet food indoors.
- Suspend bird feeders and clean up fallen seed.
- Limit outdoor composting to yard waste and plant trimmings.
- Keep barbeques clean.
- Keep vehicles free of food, with windows closed and doors locked.
Unsecured Attractants Put Bears and their Cubs at Risk
Unsecured garbage continues to be the most common bear attractant in Coquitlam, and it poses a threat to bears. Bears have a strong sense of smell and it only takes one household’s garbage to attract a bear. After only one visit eating garbage or any unnatural food source, bears can become habituated returning again and again.
Bears will soon be teaching their newborn cubs how to forage for natural food sources, and they will not learn if they get access to garbage or other attractants from your property.
Making sure bears and cubs do not find an easy meal in your neighbourhood will help encourage and teach them to forage in natural areas rather than backyards.
Enforcing Local Bear Regulations
As one of 10 official Bear Smart communities in B.C., Coquitlam uses a mix of education and enforcement to raise awareness and make sure everyone is doing their part to keep both bears and humans safe.
The City’s urban wildlife team conducts neighbourhood patrols, responds to complaints, and when necessary, enforces bylaws by issuing warnings and tickets. Property owners who do not comply with regulations—even unintentionally—may receive a $500 fine.
Coquitlam was recognized as a Bear Smart community in 2017, and the City runs a year-round community education and outreach program to help residents understand and comply with local bear regulations.
Learn more about bear safety and City regulations at coquitlam.ca/BearSmart.
Reporting Bear Concerns
To report wildlife attractants, including improper waste storage, call the City at 604-927-3660 or email UrbanWildlife@coquitlam.ca.
To report a conflict with wildlife that threatens public safety or causes property damage, call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
Media contact
Caresse Selk
Manager Environment
604-927-3500
UrbanWildlife@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.