Your household plan

Numbers to have on the fridge

• RAPP — Report All Poachers and Polluters

  BC Conservation Officer Service, 24 hours. Call for any aggressive, injured, or threatening wildlife.

  1-877-952-7277

• Emergency — 911

  Immediate danger to a person right now.

  911

• Coastal Wildlife Rescue

  Injured or orphaned wild animals — fawns, birds, seals and more.

  604-399-8502

• Sechelt Hospital (shíshálh Hospital)

  5544 Sunshine Coast Hwy, Sechelt — 24-hour emergency.

  604-885-2224

• Pender Harbour Health Centre

  Madeira Park — urgent care for the upper coast.

  604-883-2484

• Coast Animal Hospital

  Emergency veterinary care for pets and working dogs.

  604-885-2309

• WildSafeBC Sunshine Coast

  Community wildlife education and attractant advice.

  604-885-6800

Please double-check the local hospital and vet numbers against current listings before you rely on them.

Get ready, before anything happens

1. 1Agree on one meeting spot indoors — usually the kitchen — so everyone ends up in the same place, not scattered outside.
2. 2Save the RAPP line in every phone in the house, including the kids' phones.
3. 3Keep bear spray by the door you use most, and a second can in the car.
4. 4Walk the yard together and name the blind spots: behind the shed, the side path, the hedge by the driveway.
5. 5Decide who checks the yard before the dog goes out at dawn and dusk.
6. 6Fit a porch light or motion light over every door you use after dark.

Supplies to keep at home

1. 1Bear spray by the door you use most — plus a second can in the car
2. 2Bear-resistant garbage bin, or a locked garage to store bins until pickup morning
3. 3Airtight hard-sided containers for pet food, birdseed and livestock feed
4. 4Porch lights or motion lights over every door used after dark
5. 5An air horn or whistle at the door — noise moves a curious bear along
6. 6Freezer bag for food scraps — freeze them and bin them on collection morning
7. 7Electric fence charger and wire if you keep chickens, bees or small livestock
8. 8RAPP's number saved in every phone in the house: 1-877-952-7277

What to carry on you

1. 1Bear spray on your hip or chest harness — never inside your backpack
2. 2A phone with the WildWatch map saved, so you can check your route
3. 3A whistle — three blasts is the universal help signal
4. 4A leash for the dog, even on trails where off-leash is allowed
5. 5Bright clothing or a bell in low light so wildlife hears and sees you coming
6. 6A small first-aid kit on longer trail days

Keeping children and pets safe

• Keep kids within arm's reach on trails

  Children running ahead are the classic cougar risk. Keep them between adults, and teach them to never run from an animal.

• Teach kids the three rules

  Don't run, don't scream, don't approach — even for a photo. Stand still, speak calmly, and walk back to an adult.

• Pick up little ones immediately

  If a cougar or bear is near, lift small children without bending down or turning your back.

• Check the yard before kids or pets go out

  At dawn and dusk, an adult checks first — a motion light and a quick look take ten seconds.

• Dogs stay leashed, always

  Off-leash dogs chase deer, provoke elk and bears, then run straight back to you with the animal behind them.

• Feed pets indoors

  Outdoor kibble bowls attract bears day and night. Feed inside and lock feed in a hard-sided container.

• Bring pets in at night

  Cats and small dogs left out overnight are at risk from cougars and coyotes, especially at the forest edge.

Leaving safely when a bear is there

1. 1Always leave yourself two ways out of the yard — front drive and one other gate or door that isn't locked shut.
2. 2Never walk between a bear and its cubs, or between a bear and the treeline it came from. Give it the way it wants to go.
3. 3If a bear is in the yard: go inside, bring pets in, close ground-floor doors and windows. Do not go out for a photo.
4. 4If you are outside and it hasn't seen you: back away the way you came, quietly, keeping it in view.
5. 5If it has seen you: speak calmly, make yourself big, back away at an angle toward your door. Do not run.
6. 6In the car, stay in the car and drive away slowly. Don't honk repeatedly — it can push a bear toward a neighbour.
7. 7Once safe, call RAPP and add a report so the street knows.

Bear-proofing the home and garage

1. 1Garbage and organics stay inside a locked garage or a bear-resistant bin until pickup morning.
2. 2Freeze meat, fish and fruit scraps until collection day so nothing smells.
3. 3Pick fruit daily through late summer and fall; rake windfalls every evening.
4. 4Take bird feeders down from spring to first snow.
5. 5Clean and burn off the BBQ after every use; store it inside when you can.
6. 6Feed pets indoors and lock feed in a hard-sided container.
7. 7Keep the garage side door shut and latched — an open garage is the most common way a town bear gets a first reward.
8. 8Electric fencing for chickens, bees and small livestock — it is the only thing that reliably holds.