Two North Shore black bears were killed in separate incidents on Wednesday, the communitys first bear deaths of the year.
One of the bears was destroyed on Seymour Mountain after a close encounter with a jogger around noon.
Scott Smith had been running along a trail near the Mushroom parking lot, when he sensed he was being followed. He spotted a black bear and continued to run, prompting the bear to chase him, according to conservation officer Simon Gravel.
He ran very fast, but bears are very fast and the next thing he knew the bear was very close to him, said Gravel.
Smith escaped when four dogs that were being walked nearby chased the attacking animal away.
It was very good fortune, said Gravel, adding that neither the runner nor the dogs made contact with the bear.
A conservation officer later found the bear and deemed it aggressive after failing to scare it away by making noises and throwing rocks.
The officer assessed the bears behaviour and realized that this bear was young, he really didnt have any fear of humans, said Gravel.
Its a very high use area, there are a lot of people using these trails, so the officer decided to destroy the bear at that time.
Earlier in the day, Gravel put down another black bear that was roaming around the lower Delbrook neighbourhood.
That bear, a female estimated to be about 15 years old, was found to be highly habituated and dependent on unnatural food sources, namely garbage, according to Christine Miller, Bear Aware community co-ordinator for the North Shore.
Miller accompanied Gravel during his examination of the animal.
It was missing some teeth at front, that can happen by trying to break into rocks and garbage cans, she said.
Its belly was very bloated, which is an indication of eating a lot of garbage. We looked at the excrement and there was plastic bags in it.
A clear disregard for humans was also alarming, said Miller.
The conservation officer is very skilled. He knows how to use body posture and voice to move bears and she just walked around as if she owned the land.
The bear was later tranquillized and shot at close range, according to Miller, who witnessed the act for the first time in her career.
It was very, very humane. And he was so kind and caring with that bear, she said, her voice thick with emotion.
I did apologize to the bear.
Miller noted that neighbours who had seen this untagged bear around shouldve called in to report her a long time ago.
People have chosen not to report it thinking they could save her life. Whereas if we had known earlier and couldve worked with her . . . she wouldve had a better chance.
Both Gravel and Miller reminded the public to lock up garbage and avoid feeding and taking pictures with bears so that they dont become desensitized to humans.
