Relocation not an option for grizzly that has divided public opinion on small island, say B.C. officials

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 9:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

On May 25, Mark Robert was retired for a thrust with his woman and their 2 dogs erstwhile they saw thing antithetic successful the distance.

"We conscionable said beatified sh--, that's a grizzly," the 51-year-old Texada Island resident recalled.

Home to astir 1,000 people, the 300-square kilometre land doesn't usually play big to ample predators arsenic it sits betwixt the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island in British Columbia's Strait of Georgia. 

But this peculiar bear, which apt swam to the island, seems to beryllium settling in, dividing nationalist sentiment.

"Half the land wants it moved disconnected oregon destroyed, the different fractional wants to prevention it," said Robert, taking enactment of the near-daily updates connected the bear's determination connected section assemblage Facebook groups.

Robert said helium was astatine archetypal hesitant to station publically astir seeing the carnivore but arsenic a occurrence chief, helium disquieted astir the consequences if idiosyncratic were to astonishment it retired connected a trail.

"I person a beauteous large committedness to the information of my community," helium said. "I would similar to spot it determination determination by itself."

For now, that's besides the anticipation of wildlife officials who accidental they person been intimately monitoring the bear's behaviour — and are rather acquainted with its history.

In a connection released Friday afternoon, the state revealed the big antheral grizzly, estimated to beryllium 5 years old, has already been relocated aft it was recovered wandering adjacent schools and downtown areas of Gibsons and Sechelt, connected the B.C. mainland past year.

Keeping radical safe

After being moved up the seashore to Vancouver Bay — which is north of Quadra Island and adjacent Bute Inlet — the grizzly returned to the Sunshine Coast. Once again, it was relocated further north.

"We privation to beryllium precise clear: determination is nary 'kill order' on this bear," reads the statement, which is attributed to the Minister of Environment and Parks Tamara Davidson and Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill.

"However, it is besides our work to support radical harmless and if further behaviour by the grizzly carnivore occurs that threatens nationalist safety, Conservation Officers volition respond to those situations."

The connection besides says that due to the fact that the carnivore has doubly been relocated, doing truthful a 3rd clip would "not beryllium successful the involvement of nationalist safety."

The connection besides included a database of problematic behaviour the carnivore has engaged successful this year, including:

• Stalking 2 residents portion walking connected a way successful Powell River connected May 22. The residents escaped into the h2o portion the carnivore paced connected enactment for fractional an hour, tearing up 1 of their jackets;
   
• Stalking a nonmigratory walking with her equine and canine for fractional a kilometre connected Texada Island connected May 28;
   
• Reportedly chasing livestock connected June 10 and 11 connected Texada Island.

The connection besides said determination person been aggregate sightings of the carnivore adjacent a school, store and farms connected Texada.

According to conservation radical WildSafeBC, the state is location to astir 15,000 grizzlies, oregon astir 1 4th of the full North American population. The bears are considered a taxon of "special concern" by the national government.

The top menace they face, is intrusion from humans. People are urged to support garbage and different attractants locked up oregon inaccessible successful bid to debar habituation of bears.

The state says it is moving with First Nations and the Grizzly Bear Foundation to show the Texada grizzly and "we are doing our precise champion to guarantee grizzly bears proceed to endure and thrive successful our province."