Terrace conservation officers relocated a Spirit bear far into the wilderness to keep it away from human residential areas.
The bear got into a freezer situated outside a cabin in Rosswood, a small rural community north of Terrace, said Tracy Walbauer of the Terrace Conservation Officer Service.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure if he actually fed on anything in the freezer, but there was fish in the freezer and then we intervened immediately,鈥� he said.
Conservation officers moved the bear about 50 km further into the wilderness.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still within its home range, so it could work its way back, but its got a big home range,鈥� Walbauer said.
Walbauer said the bear is about 15 years old and has likely roamed the area for years.
鈥淲e believe it鈥檚 probably a 15-year-old bear, maybe 16 years old, based on his size, his teeth, and reports of a big Kermode bear in the area for that long,鈥� he said, noting that the bear was large. 鈥淚t was a big bear for sure. Probably 350 lbs. to 400 lbs.鈥�
Spirit bears, also known as Kermode bears, are black bears with white fur resulting from a rare genetic mutation. They are primarily found in northern B.C.
Because Spirit bears are rare, conservation officers are far more likely to relocate them instead of killing them when they become too close to humans.
鈥淲hen we catch them, we immobilize them, we look at them, make sure they鈥檙e in good shape, there鈥檚 no injuries, there鈥檚 no abscessed teeth or anything like that, and if they鈥檙e a candidate for being moved 鈥� that鈥檚 what we do,鈥� Walbauer said. 鈥淓specially with Kermodes. We don鈥檛 do that with black bears. Conflict black bears we typically dispatch.鈥�
jake.wray@terracestandard.com
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