For those living in the qathet region black bear sightings are not unusual.
Texada Island residents, however, take pride in the fact that the largest southern Gulf Island, across from the mainland, is predator free. That was the general consensus until yesterday when longtime Texada resident Mark Robert and a co-worker were going about their usual workday, when Robert saw what he thought was a log, until it started moving.
"I was shocked," said Robert. "I grew up on Texada and I'm 50 [years old]."
Robert said no one felt in danger but as far as he knows it's the first confirmed photo of a bear taken on the island.
Evelyn Kirkaldy, an artist and bear expert in the qathet region, said in a message to the Peak that bears travel to find food and space.
"Male bears can travel quite extensively to find territory, shelter, food and especially multiple mating partners, and they are excellent swimmers; Texada is really not that far, when you consider that the occasional grizzly has travelled all the way to Vancouver Island," said Kirkaldy. "They are usually male bears, however, it's not impossible that females would do the crossing."
Although Texadans are not used to seeing black bears on the island and are a bit concerned about livestock, the general feeling anecdotally is to leave the bear alone.
Conservation officers usually only act when a bear is habituated to humans and their food. The Peak did reach out the qathet Regional District conservation officer Leyland Klassen for comment, but hasn't heard back yet.
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