Conservation officers believe there are two black bears encroaching into Terrace.
One bear was spotted up Terrace Mountain near Johnstone St., and another bear was spotted further into town, on the east side of Park Ave. near apartment buildings, according to Sergeant Tracy Walbauer of the Terrace Conservation Officer Service.
Walbauer said the reported locations are relatively close, but conservation officers are fairly confident it’s not the same bear.
“I don’t think a bear can make that distance,” he said, adding that there are differing descriptions — a larger bear up by Johnstone St., and a smaller bear down by Park Ave.
Conservation officers are monitoring the situation and have set a bear trap on Terrace Mountain, according to Walbauer.
He said both bears have been causing grief by getting into trash.
“We’re always concerned with bears that are into non-natural food sources like garbage and things like that,” he said. “We’ve got to get the public on board to start putting [things like] garbage and bird feeders and compost bins away whenever we have bears in the area.”
Walbauer said typically autumn is the most common time to have bears coming into Terrace.
“But this year we’ve had a cool spring and there’s probably not as much ripened in the bush that in previous years we’ve seen, in terms of berries and things like that,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is we’ve got a fairly healthy bear population and they’re looking for all types of food sources they can find.”
There was a report posted to social media of a black bear on Terrace Mountain. Jordan Linteris posted a photo of a bear that he said has been ripping apart garbage and startled his daughter while she was out biking.
“It is out in the daytime and not afraid of anything and walking down the street around traffic,” he wrote June 22.
Bear sightings or encounters can be reported by calling 1-877-952-7277.
jake.wray@terracestandard.com
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