B.C. park set to reopen after 'problematic' bear caught, killed

A large Lower Mainland park will reopen sooner than initially planned after a black bear officials said had become dangerously "food-conditioned" was captured and killed.

In a notice posted Monday, B.C. Parks said the 62,500-hectare Golden Ears Park had been fully closed so conservation officers could search for a "problematic" black bear.

"The bear has been getting into attractants within the campground, as well as accessing numerous vehicles in the area to gain garbage and food," the notice from B.C. Parks said.

"In one incident, the bear attempted to walk through an open trailer door while people were inside."

In an update posted online Tuesday, the park announced it will reopen Wednesday at 7 a.m. The originally estimated time was Thursday afternoon.

"The bear has since been destroyed," the website said.

• Visiting Golden Ears Park this summer? You might need a park pass.

In the first four months of the year, 39 black bears were killed by conservation officers in the province and officers responded to just under 200 calls about the animals.

In 2021, 504 black bears were killed by conservation officers and 20 were translocated, provincial data shows. Calls about bears to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service typically increase in the spring and summer months.

Officials and advocates have repeatedly warned of the dangers of bears becoming food conditioned, including the risk of animals being killed by conservation officers.

"The bottom line is the best way to protect animals from being killed because they’re habituated to human food is to control their attractants," Minister of Environment George Heyman told reporters last month. 

"When animals are habituated to human sources of food, whether it is as an adult or a cub, then there is a risk to human communities."