Julie Gogal spent much of the summer taking photos of the garbage people leave in plastic bags on Cedar Drive and the bears that rip them apart on their way to the blueberry farms.
But on Oct. 15, the bears were a little closer to home for Gogal, who lives near Como Lake.
"I saw a pile of poop, and I thought, 'That's not dog poop,'" said the amateur photographer.
When she saw conservation officers tracking the animal near Gatensbury Street and Como Lake Avenue, she decided to follow them and take a few pictures.
"I wanted to see if I could see the bear," said Gogal, noting she followed it as it took a zigzag path through homes and yards.
Finally, the conservation officers managed to tree the bear, tranquillize it and release it into the forest, Gogal said. Fortunately, this bear was a candidate for relocation, said conservation officer James Kelly, who said the bear was taken to an area well away from people where there was natural food for the bear to eat.
Still, Gogal wants people to do a better job of taking care of their garbage and would like to see electric fences installed around all blueberry farms - and she's lobbying Coquitlam council to take action.
"They can't kill all the bears. That isn't an answer."
