North Vancouver RCMP shot and killed a black bear in Lower Lonsdale on Sept. 29, as six black bears have been destroyed by conservation officers or police on the North Shore this season.
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Six black bears have been destroyed on the North Shore this season following incidents in which the animals entered garages or homes for easily accessible food, according to the North Shore Black Bear Society.
Two other bears also died after being hit—one by a train and one by a vehicle on the highway—and another bear was found dead with no clues about how it died, the society said.
The most recent destruction took place Tuesday morning, Sept. 29, when North Vancouver RCMP shot and killed a black bear in Lower Lonsdale after residents spotted it near First Street and Lonsdale Avenue and called 911.
RCMP Const. Paul Reece said the bear appeared to be eating from nearby garbage bins and showed no sign of fear when he approached. Reece said the concern was a significant conflict between people and the bear, citing other Lower Mainland incidents involving injuries.
Based on that risk, Reece said officers euthanized the bear, calling it the appropriate course for public safety.
Holly Reisner, executive director of the society, said this year’s number of bears killed by conservation officers or police on the North Shore because they were considered dangerously habituated to people or human food sources is higher than in previous years.
Reisner said it has been a very busy year for bear activity across the region.
Reisner said the Sept. 29 incident was the third time a bear was destroyed in the past week. She said a large male bear that entered a garage in Seymour Heights around 10 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, was also shot this week.
Reisner said the bear may have tried to access other garages before that, noting that people sometimes leave garage doors open where garbage is stored or food is kept in a freezer or extra fridge. She added that bears can be able to find accessible food quickly and may also break garage doors to do so.
In another case, Reisner said a female bear with an ear tag was shot by conservation officers after entering a home in the Lynn Canyon area.
Earlier in the season, Reisner said three bears were destroyed in similar incidents in West Vancouver, including a male black bear that entered a kitchen in July and another bear that broke a wall to access a garage.
Reisner said bears can enter homes when conditions are warm and doors are left open, and that behaviour often results in the bear being destroyed because the conservation office considers bears that have entered residences, garages or vehicles to be high risk.
Reisner said another bear was shot after getting into a conflict with a dog in West Vancouver in August.
In addition to animals destroyed by authorities, Reisner said three other bears met untimely ends on the North Shore this year. She said a decomposed black bear was discovered in West Vancouver in June, and that the state of the remains made it impossible to determine whether the bear died naturally.
She said a young bear was killed by a train on tracks near Caulfeild in August and that, in the same month, a female bear was hit by a vehicle on Highway 1 near the Cypress highway exit in West Vancouver. Reisner said the injuries required the bear to be euthanized on scene and that the bear had a cub that ran off.
Reisner said conservation staff attempted to capture the cub with a trap to take it to the Critter Care animal rehabilitation centre in Langley, but the cub did not take the bait and would likely die.
Reisner said current bear activity in residential areas may be linked to a failure of wild berry crops at higher elevations and smaller berries ripening early, leaving less time for bears to find them before they wilt.
She also said 2026 is an “off year” for pink salmon, meaning few of that species will return to the Fraser River. Reisner said bears are in a fall hyperphagia phase, putting in effort to build body fat before denning for winter.
Reisner said residents should manage attractants such as ripe fruit and keep garbage and food inside garages, and she said vehicles should be parked with doors and windows fully closed and locked. She added that bears may be able to open car doors from the outside and that bears can damage the inside of a vehicle if they get inside and the door shuts behind them.
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