Bear Hitches a Ride to Downtown Vancouver

Goldilocks, we have a new story for you. Remember that pizza-eating bear in Whistler or the fruit-eating bear in Ketchican? This time Baby Bear hitched a ride on the back of a garbage truck and was discovered in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The northern edges of the city abut a wild area so it is likely Bruin hopped onto the food source while the truck was plying streets nearest the mountains.

With the help of a tranquilizer gun, some patience and a brave police officer, the youngster, probably around 18 months old, was captured and bundled into a police vehicle. The bear was transferred to a BC Parks steel bear trap on Mount Seymour. After sleeping off the tranquilizer, the bear was released near a stream where salmon are running.

Alexandre Desjardins, the conservation officer who responded to a call about the bear, hopes he will fill up on salmon and then hibernate in a nearby den. He told the Vancouver Sun he knew of only one other bear trapped in Vancouver. That was in 2008 when a bear appeared on the Pacific National Exhibition Grounds.

CBC and the Vancouver Sun captured footage of one confused, and then sleepy, bear perched atop the garbage truck. The young bruin had acquired a taste for human food. The hope is that by dropping him off near a plentiful supply of salmon, he will switch to hunting and gathering rather than return to an urban area.

Related Care2 Stories

Pizza-eating Bear in Whistler, B.C.

Bear Cub Shops for Fruit

New York Governor Signs Bear Protection Legislation into Law

Photo from Tom Brakefield via Thinkstock

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Carrie Anne B.

5:53AM PST on Dec 31, 2011

glad the bear is ok :) thanks for sharing

send a green star

5:51AM PST on Dec 31, 2011

KS G.

6:31PM PST on Dec 22, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Nancy L.

7:53PM PST on Dec 20, 2011

Thanks for posting. Good ending.

JACQUI G.

10:54PM PST on Dec 18, 2011

Good to see he was tranquilised & not shot to death.
like they should have done in OHIO.

Lynne B.

11:11AM PST on Dec 18, 2011

Cute. It's good to see people using their intelligence to help a bear instead of using a 'shoot first' policy. Good to see:-)

Darlene L.

4:56PM PST on Dec 17, 2011

This bear was lucky - usually "Conservation" Officers here are much more apt to destroy the animals that come too close to people, be it a cougar, coyote, or bear. I live in Vancouver, BC and I think what saved this bear is that he didn't try to run - he would have been shot immediately - and the news cameras got there quickly. The news station is just down the street from where the bear popped up. Otherwise he would have been destroyed. They put on a show of caring about wildlife for the cameras. They don't give a damn about trying to relocate them.

We are the ones encroaching on the animals' habitats, yet they are the ones who pay the price. We shouldn't be allowed to build further into their habitats but homes are being built here farther and farther up the mountain and into the wilderness. It's not right.

Vancouver is becoming so over-populated and the animals are being forced out or they're killed.

Dee D.

2:26PM PST on Dec 17, 2011

Wonderful news for the cuddly bear cub!!!! A big, warm hum and thank you to all involved in the rescue!

Marianna B M.

4:39AM PST on Dec 16, 2011

noted

Janet K.

4:01AM PST on Dec 16, 2011

What a little cutie! I hope all goes well for him.