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VIDEO: Bear in Port Coquitlam sports park the latest of 70 regional sightings in one week

Creature appears to mind its own business, but prompts another warning to local residents of being aware of their surroundings in parks, trails or the backwoods.
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer

As another weekend begins for the Tri-Cities, bears are likely to make more appearances — especially if the sun decides to stay out for a while.

Case in point, Kabir Rahmaty shared a video on Facebook of a black bear roaming through Gates Park in Port Coquitlam this morning (June 4).

The creature appears to come out of a forested area of the Reeve Street sports and recreation park and walks along a walking trail before disappearing into the bushes.

While it appeared to be minding its own business with no encounters with passersby, the video comes once again as a friendly reminder to be bear aware.

According to WildSafeBC, and as of this publication, there have been 70 reported black bear sightings across the Tri-City region since last Friday (May 28).

This includes 41 in Coquitlam, 14 in Port Coquitlam and 15 in Port Moody/Anmore/Belcarra area — with locations varying, such as sightings in parks, burrowing through berry bushes and digging into trash cans in neighbourhoods.

Bear sightings - Tri-Cities May 28-June 4, 2021About 70 black bear sightings were reported in the Tri-City region between May 28 and June 4, 2021. By WildSafeBC Wildlife Alert Reporting Program

WildSafeBC cites the following tips as bear season continues:

  • Keep your garbage in or secured until the day of collection. Garbage is the number one attractant cited in reports to the provincial hotline
  • Manage your fruit trees
    • Don’t let windfalls accumulate, and pick fruit as it ripens
    • If you don’t want the fruit, consider...
      • Accessing a fruit gleaning group in your community
      • Washing the blossoms off in the spring so the fruit doesn’t set
      • Replacing the tree with a non-fruit bearing variety
  • Don’t put out bird feeders when bears are active
    • A kilo of bird seed has approximately 8,000 calories and is a great reward for a hungry bear
  • Keep your compost working properly with lots of brown materials and a regular schedule of turning
  • If you have livestock or backyard chickens use a properly installed and maintained electric fence to keep bears and livestock apart

The public is also being reminded to check all of your surroundings when out in the backcountry as bears are known to hang out in trees.