B.C. bear caught on camera stealing golf bag

Early Monday evening, a group of golfers at Westwood Plateau witnessed a black bear remove a golfer’s bag from a cart and drag it into a steep ravine.

Karim Lalani captured the moment on video. He tells CTV News it happened on the 12th hole, and the bear took a keen interest in a golfer’s bag that belonged to the group ahead of him. He says it appeared to be a mama bear looking for food for her cubs.

"Ninety per cent of the time they just mind their own business,” said Lalani. “But when I saw it rip into the bag I said, ‘Okay this one's a little bit aggressive,’ and that's when I started backing away our cart from theirs and make a run for it if we have to."

Lalani says most of the golfer’s clubs appeared to fall out of the bag as the bear dragged it away.

An employee with Westwood Plateau says bear sightings are common, but in his five years working at the course, he’s never seen anything quite like this.

"We try our best to minimize all contact with members and bears,” said Jeff Peterson, a Westwood Plateau ambassador, who says employees are trained to deal with bears, with some equipped with bear bangers and air horns. “I know they're not going anywhere and we're not going anywhere and we're just going to try and make everybody live in peace together, hopefully."

Peterson says he believes the same mama bear and her cubs were spotted earlier that day playing on a tee box and a fairway.

Peterson adds that he’s never heard of a bear on the course attacking a golfer, and that witnessing wildlife is part of the experience of playing the mountain course. Employees at the course are making efforts to retrieve the bag, according to Peterson.

Lalani says though the experience was startling, he won’t be deterred from playing there again. Also, he says he’s been contacted by several media outlets across North America.