Bear shot in downtown Revelstoke

Updated:

Golden conservation officer Dan Bartol has had 31 calls about bears in Revelstoke in the last 15 days.

He’s the officer in town on Tuesday August 16, on a three-day visit, who shot and killed a mature black bear roaming Revelstoke’s downtown streets. The bear was the third one to be killed in Revelstoke on Tuesday.

Barton said the bear was found eating out of several large pails that were sitting beside a garbage bin. The bear’s behaviour was human habituated, at one point coming within about six feet of Barton.

“He approached me at quite a close range, and had standoff with a local dog,” Barton said. “He wouldn’t chase off, which is quite uncommon for a bear.”

A photo of the bear believed to have been shot in downtown Revelstoke. Photo: Arianna Sterritt

The incident came to an end around 6 p.m. in the alley along Connaught Ave, between First and Second Streets. Barton said he had the assistance of the RCMP to block the alley on the east and west sides.

“I took position and attempted to euthanize the bear with a shotgun,” he said.

A mature black bear roaming Revelstoke’s downtown on Tuesday August 16 was shot and killed. Photo: Zack Vansickle

The first shot wasn’t lethal and the bear ran onto First Street where it holed up into a little doorway until Barton fired further shots to kill him.

It was a traumatic scene for bystanders and one onlooker questioned the use of a firearm when multiple people were standing by. Barton said he had discussed with RCMP prior to shooting and said there was a safe backstop (a concrete wall).

“I would never discharge my firearm if there was any hazard to humans or otherwise,” Barton said.

“When it comes to a food conditioned bears in town approaching people in the middle of the downtown, we don’t have a choice, we don’t have an alternative, we need to be proactive.”

Local RCMP manage the scene after a black bear was shot in downtown Revelstoke. Photo: Arianna Sterritt

A dangerous wildlife protection order was issued to a business in the area, who the garbage belonged to. Failure to comply would have resulted in a $575 fine. They immediately cleaned up the area, but they will still get a violation ticket for attracting dangerous wildlife to the community.

“We want people to know what the problem is and what the consequence is and inform them that these are avoidable situations and the community has a responsibility to help us avoid it,” Barton said.

This bear was the third one killed in Revelstoke on Tuesday. Earlier that day Bartol euthanized a bear in the Big Eddy and one in Columbia Park.

Barton said he’s been to Revelstoke several times over the past few weeks, dealing with the problem of garbage not being secured, fruit trees and bears becoming increasingly food conditioned.

A petition has been started on Change.org to reinstate a conservation officer, after Revelstoke lost its local position in 2013 after the previous officer retired.

Barton couldn’t comment on whether Revelstoke needs its own conservation officer but indicated any additonal resources for his department would be welcomed.

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A mature black bear roaming Revelstoke’s downtown on Tuesday August 16 was shot and killed. Photo: Zack Vansickle

A black bear roaming the streets in downtown Revelstoke on the evening of Tuesday August 16 has been shot and killed by a conservation officer.

A previous report stated that it was the Revelstoke RCMP but local police advised that their officers seen at the scene were there to help with crowd control and cleanup.

Local residents noted a bear’s movements in the afternoon through social media, making updates and uploading photos.

Facebook comments reported that a bear downtown was casual and seemingly not phased by people or cars. At one point, it even wandered into outdoor store Wearabouts Clothing on Revelstoke’s main street, Mackenzie Ave.

The bear’s movements reportedly came to end near the Frisby Ridge Sushi restaurant around First Street, where an official fired shots.

The death is the second this summer and has created much discussion in online forums on Facebook.

A petition has been started on Change.org to reinstate a conservation officer, after Revelstoke lost its local position in 2013 after the previous officer retired.

It’s believed the conservation officer who attended to the incident was from the Golden service and in town at the time.

A black bear. Photo: Revelstoke Bear Aware

Revelstoke Bear Aware‘s Maggie Spizzirri said Revelstoke this year has seen higher than usual bear activity.

“We would just like to remind residents of the importance of keeping their attractants such as garbage secure (inside a garage or house) and harvest ripe fruit and pick up any windfall to help prevent situations like this in the future,” she said.

“If we all work together we can help keep bears wild and our community safe.”

Spizzirri noted that their gleaning project with Revelstoke Local Food Initiative is in full swing. Residents can call (250) 837-8624 for volunteers who will come and pick fruit at no cost. Excess fruit is donated to the Revelstoke Community Connections Food Bank.