Bear encounters on the rise in B.C. community where grizzlies attacked school group, residents say

How B.C. Conservation officers continued to search for three grizzly bears involved in Thursday's attack on an elementary school group in Bella Coola. Locals say the incident reflects years of increasing bear sightings in the remote Central Coast community.

At a news conference Sunday, Sgt. Jeff Tire of the BC Conservation Service said officers installed surveillance cameras and narrowed their search to a few kilometers around the 4-mile area where the attack occurred, believing the bears were likely to return there.

Teer said only one bear had been spotted in the last 24 hours, and it was far from the attack site.

Three students and one teacher were hospitalized Thursday when a bear attacked a group of about 20 people, including teachers and students in grades 4 and 5, in Bella Coola, a community near 420 kilometers northwest of Vancouver as the crow flies.

The group was on an excursion and having lunch at that time.

Conservation officers said they believed a mother bear and her two cubs were likely involved in the attack.

Human-bear interactions have increased, local residents say.

Bella Coola Ice Cream small unincorporated community surrounded by steep mountains and dense tropical forest.

Known as the “Gateway to the Great Bear Rainforest,” this region is where encounters between people and wildlife are not uncommon.

But residents say interaction has intensified in recent years.

Nuxalk Nation Hereditary Chief Noel Putlass said a new population of grizzly bears began moving into the valley around 2018 after being pushed out of their territory by logging, drought and wildfires.

“The population is so large now that it has probably doubled or tripled in our valley,” he said.

He says the community has dealt with dozens of incidents over the past seven years.

“Bears break into houses and enter porches where there is dog or cat food… and that's a huge risk for people.”

Putlass says Nuxalk has traditionally had a respectful relationship with bears, but pressures from logging and climate change have changed that balance.

Local resident Marianna Gurr spoke about this. grizzly bears became a constant and disturbing presence on its territory.

She remembered seeing a mother bear and three cubs in her front garden several years ago. When she tried to sneak out back door she I found two more adult bears in my yard.

“I was in tears, I was screaming,” she said.

In another incident, a bear broke into her home and stole food from her freezer.

“There were pork chops and homemade chili and chicken soup that I had made so I could eat during the week, and it was all strewn all over the floor and the whole backyard.”

“I can't sleep at night thinking they'll come back.”

Despite her fear, she says she doesn't want the bears to be killed.

“I like bears. I just want to find a solution where we can all be safe together,” she said. “They are breaking into houses and something needs to be done or more people will be injured or killed.”

AttaThe attack on schoolchildren and teachers has reignited debate over the province's ban on grizzly bear hunting. B.C. banned grizzly bear hunting at the end of 2017 excluding hunting by indigenous peoples for food, social and ceremonial purposes.

Conservation officers say their goal now is to identify the bears involved in Thursday's attack. attack.

Sgt Teare said there are quite a few bears in the area and the goal is to safely capture the animals, collect DNA and work with wildlife veterinarians to determine if the captured bears are involved in the attack.. He said any bears captured that were not involved in the attack would be relocated.

No decisions have been made about what to do with the bears involved in the attack if they are captured.

Residents were asked to avoid the 4-mile area, stay home and not search for bears on their own.