Bear sightings throughout the Central Okanagan

KELOWNA – Spring has arrived and that means Okanagan bears have woken up from their winter hibernation and are heading out into the wilderness, which to their way of thinking includes some forested neighbourhoods.

Currently there is known bear activity in Peachland, Rose Valley and Glenrosa according to the Wildlife Alert Reporting Program, the interactive map from the British Columbia Conservation Foundation that highlights creature sightings. There has also been no shortage of sightings on neighbourhood Facebook groups.

A few of the sightings have been fairly far from lived-in neighbourhoods, like the bear whose photo was taken as he went into the townhouses being built by the old Ponderosa golf club.

Others have been a bit closer to areas where people live.

Brad Boa snapped a picture of a bear doing a high wire “ninja” walk atop of his fence and posted it to social media.

The bear is a regular as it passes through, which is not uncommon for interface neighbourhoods. The big issue, however, is ensuring that bears in these areas don’t linger.

WildSafeBC went to Facebook this morning to say that garbage continues to be the main bear attractant in the area and was identified in 71 per cent of the black bear reports from this region made to the Conservation Officer Service last year.

As such, WildSafeBC would like to remind residents to please keep their garbage secured in a shed, garage or indoors until the morning of collection day.

More information on black bears and attractant management can be found on the WildSafeBC website here.

Wildlife conflicts and urban bear sightings can be reported to the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.

Residents can also report wildlife conflict other than bears, cougars, coyotes or wolves online at WildSafeBC’s Wildlife Alert Reporting Program.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.