Jasper Road walker meets up with bear

By Elizabeth Nolan - Gulf Islands Driftwood - July 02, 2008

Black bear makes another appearance

A bear sighting by Joyce Campbell on June 28 placed Salt Spring’s celebrity animal on Jasper Road, near Jennifer Way.

Campbell was on one of her customary walks of the area when she crested a hill and noticed the bear “shuffling” across the road about 50 feet ahead of her.

“It didn’t register at first,” Campbell said. After taking “a few gulps,” she began slowly backing away from the bear. Once she was out of sight behind the rise, she “ran like a bat out of hell.”

Campbell described her experience as “disconcerting” because she often takes walks alone in the 200 acres of forest and trails near Bryant Hill and the Jasper Road subdivision.

“There’s a feeling that my security has been slightly compromised. I think my main concern is that I’ll kind of be looking over my shoulder all the time.”

Salt Spring’s animal control officer Wolfgang Brunnwieser said Campbell is right to be concerned about walking alone. Although the bear has not caused any problems so far, the animal could be aggressive if surprised. He suggests walking with another person, or better yet, with a dog.

If someone does come across the bear, Brunnwieser said people should do exactly as Campbell did in walking away slowly — if the bear hasn’t spotted them. If the bear has seen an individual, he said they should make as much noise as possible to scare it away, and even to throw things at it. People should never run from a bear that has seen them, or try to climb a tree, because the bear will give chase and outrun/outclimb them.

At this point in time, Brunnwieser is not worried about the bear’s presence on the island. People should continue to report sightings, however, to establish a pattern of movement in case it does become a nuisance and needs to be removed in the future. People should also report if their animals start to go missing, although Brunnwieser said bears are scavengers and not likely to go after live prey.

A bear sighting was also reported a couple of weeks ago in the 600-block of Upper Ganges Road, in the back yard of Driftwood cartoonist Dennis Parker, and it was also photographed by Jim Raddysh on the evening of June 12 in the 1500 block of Fulford-Ganges Road.

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Jasper Road walker meets up with bear

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