Coquitlam bear attack could have been prevented, say local residents

Residents of PortCoquitlam, B.C.,who live nearwhere a 10-year-old girl was mauled by a bear last weekend say the animal had been eating from compost bins in the area for months.

"She got used to people," said Reinhard Winter, who lives in a housing complex across the municipal border from the popular Coquitlamriver trail where the bear was eventually killed and her cub captured.

"She wasback and forth Idon't know how many times ...twice aday sometimes."

Winter and his neighbour, Margaret Ellwood, said the bear became a well-known guest in the neighbourhood.

"People got kind of fond of herbecauseshe was here all the time the cub was cute," Ellwood said.

Ellwood and Winter said residents in the complex each have their own garbage and recycling bins, butthe city kept the shared compost bins outside for all residents to access.

'We just stayed in'

They said they told the city about the bear, and the city did provide residents with containers they thought wouldbe bear-proof.

"The bear doesn't care she knocks it over," Winter said.

Elwoodand Wintersaidthe mother bear and her cub had been climbing over a fence andeating from thecomplex's compost bins for about fourmonths.

Over that time, Winter said, the bear became increasingly habituated to people. Residents tried to scare and shoo the bear away, but it just looked at them and kept on eating.

Elwoodand Wintersaidit was just a matter of time before the bear became more of a problem.

"I wasn't going out," Ellwood said. "The last couple of nights before that happened, we just stayed in."

Bear locks effective, says city

But the City of Port Coquitlam says the special bear-proof locks it provided the complexshould work to deter bears.

"If the locks are put on correctly,bears are not going to be able to get in the green bins," said Dan Scoones, manager of bylaw services.

"Then the bins can be outside and if the bears do try to get in they're pretty well going to be unsuccessful."

He said the locks have been field tested, successfully, with grizzly bears, and are used at other residential complexes in the city.

He said bear sightings, especially if they involve garbage, should be reported to conservation officers.

With files from Kamil Karamali