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Summer tastes sweeter in Fernie Fernie residence wins Sinister 7- Page 2 BLACK ROCK NEWS
Massive monster mushroom - Page 4 SPARWOOD
Students make gelato - Page 17
ELKFORD
A couple of young entrepreneurs selling cold lemonade at a hot Sunday social this week. For more, turn to page 5 or visit www.thefreepress.ca.
Photo by J. Arenson
Fifth bear has to be shot by conservation officers By Angela Treharne Free Press Staff
Elkford citizen of the year - Page 26
RCMP
Crime reports Pages 11 and 25
A
fifth bear has been shot in Fernie, after conservation officers were not able to scare him away from Fernie Alpine Resort. The male black bear, aged two to three years, was hanging around at the bottom of the Elk Chair and around the new zip line area at the resort on Sunday. Staff at the resort attempted to scare him away, using bear bangers, and conservation
officer Frank de Boon threw rocks at him, but the bear would not leave. “The bear was obviously not afraid of people,” said de Boon. “He’d been hanging around ski hill residences for the last two months and on Sunday he was hanging around the ski lift areas. “It was community appreciation day so there were hundreds of people around.” De Boon attempted to trap the bear but that also failed. The bear wandered into a residence on Highline
Drive, pushing the screen door open, surprising the homeowner who was lying on the couch. He had also tried to get into the Griz Inn. He was finally shot on Sunday afternoon. “Bird feeders and garbage attract these bears, and then they become habituated to people and not scared of them. Tourists may also even approach bears to get photos, which also educates them to not fear people.” De Boon praised the staff at Fernie Alpine Resort for
managing the situation to avoid conflict. “The ski hill did a great job of keeping bears and people separated and closing the lifts and trails as needed,” he said. “They do whatever is necessary, even if it means inconveniencing guests.” Matt Mosteller from Fernie Alpine Resort said staff at the resort made sure the guests knew what was happening. “We tried to scare the bear away but nothing worked,” he said. “He was hanging
around the base of the Timber Chair, then up at the zipline, then wandered off towards the Griz Inn. “We closed operations for about 35 minutes to be on the safe side, then extended operations until 4:30 p.m. to make up for it.” This bear is the fifth in the last month to be shot in Fernie. Four bears, two grizzlies and two black, have been hit by cars on Elk Valley roads since spring.
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