bears

By Simone Blais - Penticton Western News (link to story)

Published: September 29, 2011 4:00 PM 

Two bears are dead after conservation officers were called to a report of an aggressive bruin in West Bench Wednesday afternoon.

A construction worker had been outside on site at a West Bench home around 1 p.m. when he heard something on the property that piqued his curiosity. “He heard a noise in the bush and thought it was a deer,” conservation officer Bob Hamilton said. “He walked over to the bush, and a bear came charging out of the bush.” Taken aback, the worker backed away and noticed the large black bear lunge four times at him.

“The person who was reporting it, they were quite shaken,” Hamilton said, noting police were called to the area. “When the officers arrived, the bears were up a tree.” The bear was a large sow, and Hamilton said she had a yearling in tow — which struck the conservation officials as odd, as the cub should have been on its own by now. He said another conservation officer was called in to assist, as the decision had to be made to destroy the bears given the proximity of West Bench Elementary. The bears were killed without incident.