VANCOUVER -- Conservation officers in B.C. say they are concerned by reports of people taking photos of a grizzly bear spotted in a northwest town.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service posted to social media Monday, saying the animal had been spotted in Kitimat near the Cormorant Avenue area.
While there haven't been alerts of any aggressive behaviour, officers say they're concerned about other activity.
"Concerningly, the COS is also receiving reports of people deliberately approaching the bear to take pictures," the service's post says. "This is extremely risky behaviour that is not condoned by the COS."
Conservation officers are continuing to monitor the situation and are asking the public to leave the bear alone "so it can move on."
Officers are also reminding the public that it's illegal to feed dangerous wildlife.
"Please use caution and report sightings or aggressive behaviour to the (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line," the BCCOS' post says.
In the 2020 to 2021 fiscal year, conservation officers received 838 calls about grizzly bears across B.C., according to provincial data. Of those, conservation officers responded to 231 of them. That’s down from 944 calls and 275 responses recorded in the previous year.
Provincial data also shows 23 grizzly bears were destroyed by conservation officers last fiscal year. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, 28 of the animals were killed by officers.
"The main cause of conflicts in B.C. is access to non-natural food sources," BCCOS says.
"Bears that learn how to access exposed pet food, ripe fruit, improperly stored garbage, dirty barbecues or easily-accessible composts become conditioned and will continue to return to the food source."
