Bear spotted near West Kelowna school prompts wildlife reminder

WEST KELOWNA – A food-conditioned black bear was seen near Mar Jok Elementary School in West Kelowna, according to information provided by WildSafeBC.

While the outcome of the encounter wasn’t specified, WildSafeBC said the bear is attracted by garbage and was seen near Rosealee Lane at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 25.

“It is a powerful and extremely agile hunter when it needs to be,” said WildSafeBC of black bears. “For the most part, the bear is driven by its insatiable appetite – mainly because of their need to put on about 30 per cent of their post-hibernation body weight to make it through the next winter’s sleep.”

Sunday’s black bear sighting is one of many encounters reported by conservation officers and WildSafeBC across the Okanagan this week. And that doesn't include the considerable amount of chatter regarding wildlife sightings on social media forums.

Later on Sunday morning, an aggressive coyote was seen near Highway 97 in Lake Country. A cougar was spotted a few kilometres south Sunday evening.

Numerous sightings of wildlife, including everything from deer to bears, have been reported and recorded thanks to WARP – a Wildlife Alert Reporting Program launched by WildSafeBC.

Sightings, their source and their outcomes, as well as management notes on how to handle and mitigate encounters, are available through the program’s open public beta.

“This is my baby,” said Frank Ritcey in a past interview with iNFOnews.

Ritcey, along with a team of WildSafeBC developers, launched the site a few years ago.

“Even though people have a sense of how much human-wildlife conflict goes on in the province, it’s not until you see the map that you start to grasp just how much wildlife interaction goes on.”

According to WildSafe BC, the public is also able to report wildlife sightings. However, those reports are not sent to the Conservation Officer Service. Reports of dangerous wildlife in urban areas, WildSafeBC said, should still be reported to the 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952-7277.

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