Blueridge residents were in for a bit of scare Tuesday morning when they heard a series of loud bangs followed by a heavy police presence on their streets.
Rather than gunplay erupting, it turned out to be a Hyannis Drive man setting off bear bangers to haze a bear out of his yard around 7 a.m., according to Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Bear bangers aren’t illegal but they are easily mistaken for gunfire, De Jong said, and so residents should call the RCMP before setting one off.
“Please, notify the police if you’re going to do it because it comes in as a ‘shots fired’ and that gets a lot of attention from us and we will respond,” he said. “If the bear is charging into your house, obviously that’s a different scenario but if you’re anticipating that you’re going to do it, then call us.”
Last month, the North Shore Black Bear Society started warning Blueridge residents specifically that a sow and two cubs that became habituated to humans in the area last year would likely be coming back.
Seven bears were killed on the North Shore in 2016, five of them shot by conservation officers and two killed on the roads by drivers.
“We’d like to try to reduce that at all costs,” said Sgt. Todd Hunter, conservation officer.
Hunter said this is a precarious time for bears in search of calories, and bird feeders are the most common attractant people leave out, unnecessarily.
“We’re starting to see a lot of activity, especially when there’s not a lot of food for them.
“We don’t have the berries or the salmon yet,” he said.
