A dog escaping the summer heat in a creek at McNaughton Park on Sunday (July 14), suddenly found himself trying to escape from a black bear.
The owner of the dog had taken him for a walk on-leash in the Valleycliffe area, Squamish’s WildSafe BC co-ordinator Meg Toom said. The dog was swimming in the water while still on-leash, when a bear came out of the bushes and grabbed the dog’s tail.
“The bear just ran and grabbed the dog and started pulling,” Toom said.
The dog’s leg got wedged in a tree root and, after a few more tugs, the bear gave up. The incident was “pretty unusual,” Toom said. Black bears are known to go after chickens and rabbits, but attacking dogs is uncommon, she said, noting that the dog’s owner was standing there
as well.
Squamish conservation officers have set a trap in the hopes of catching the bear. A coyote was also seen in the Westway Village Residents area stalking a cat in the parking lot.
In May, Squamish conservation officers were kept busy by a bobcat that was attacking dogs in Alice Lake Provincial Park. The uncharacteristic behaviour raised alarm bells, when the cat started approaching pets on-leash accompanied by their owners.
If you have any wildlife encounters call the wildlife line at 1-877-952-7277.
