When the two mountain bikers from Surrey, England, asked Teresa Edgar the name of the “brown bear” species, Edgar had to think.
On Friday, July 4, the Cumberland resident was out riding Squamish’s trails with friends. The group travelled up into the Garibaldi Highlands and were venturing onto single track. Just before a trail named Rock ’n Roll, a small, brown bear ran across the pathway in between Edgar and the United Kingdom pack.
“For us [in Cumberland] bears are like deer,” Edgar said. “I have seen enough black bears to know this was not a black bear.”
Six years ago, Edgar worked as an outdoor guide at Telegraph Cove on the northern portion of Vancouver Island. While taking people from around the world on kayak adventures she encountered grizzly bears.
This bear was small, but Edgar suspected it just might be the famous bruin.
“I yelled back ‘Heads up that bear is young, a mom could still be around.’ They were really excited about it,” she said, before adding that it was only the second time the British duo had seen a bear… and it was a grizzly.
Grizzlies are not common in Squamish, but they are not surprising either, Squamish’s WildSafe BC co-ordinator Meg Toom said. Four years ago she found a grizzly bear footprint in the sand beside the Squamish River. In 2007, a grizzly bear wandered into downtown from the Squamish Estuary. At the time, it was reported that it was the first in living history to venture into the town’s centre. The bear was later relocated.
Grizzlies attack when they’re defending either themselves or something — a food source or cub. They are stronger and bigger than black bears and, as a result, tend to stand their ground, Toom said.
People were asked to avoid areas in which the grizzly was spotted – including the Ray Peters Trail and the Squamish Valley Road north of the landfill. If people needed to travel those routes, dogs had to be on-leash and people were advised to make noise to alert the bear of one’s presence.
“Use your voice. You don’t want to surprise a grizzly,” Toom said. “You don’t want to give them any reason to be surprised.”
Grizzly bears are considered a vulnerable population in the Upper Squamish. There are approximately 59 grizzly bears in the Squamish-Lillooet region, states the Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative – an organization aiming to protect grizzly bear populations.
No further evidence of grizzly bear activity has been reported to the conservation officers. Officials estimate the grizzly is four years old. It was sighted grazing on scraps at the Squamish Landfill.
The bear didn’t return to the dump, which is a good sign, Toom said. The District of Squamish is planning to place an electric fence around the landfill.
