Safety tips
Each animal needs a different response. Read the one you're likely to meet.
Black bears usually want to avoid you. Most encounters end quietly if you give the bear an exit.
1.Make yourself known early
Speak in a calm, normal voice as you walk. A bear that hears you coming will usually move off before you meet.
2.Never run, never climb
Back away slowly while facing the bear. Running can trigger a chase, and black bears climb better than you do.
3.Manage attractants at home
Garbage out the morning of pickup, fruit picked, birdseed away, freezers and pet food indoors. Most street-level bears are food-conditioned.
4.Give cubs a wide berth
If you see a cub, the sow is close. Leave the way you came immediately.
5.Carry and know your spray
Bear spray on your hip, not in your pack. Practice the draw once so it's automatic.
6.If contact happens with a black bear, fight back
Unlike grizzlies, fight a black bear that makes contact — aim for the face and muzzle.
Want the deep version on bears?
Black bear vs grizzly: how to tell them apart, what they're doing each season, and exactly what to do if you meet one. Read the full bear guide →
Guides for every animal here
Elk, deer, wolves, cougars, coyotes and foxes — what they're doing through the year and what to do if you meet one. Browse the wildlife guides →
On the trail
Current guidance for hiking and mountain biking on the Sunshine Coast while bear activity is high.
Ditch the headphones
Stay alert and listen — rustling, snapping branches, or warning calls are your earliest notice that a bear is near.
Make plenty of human noise
Talk loudly, shout, or sing near blind corners and rushing creeks, where sound is muffled and bears can be surprised.
Keep dogs strictly on leash
Off-leash dogs frequently provoke defensive behaviour — and a chased dog runs straight back to you.
Carry bear spray where you can reach it
On your hip or chest harness, never buried in your pack. Know the draw before you need it.
Expect activity day and night in fall
During hyperphagia (pre-hibernation feeding) bears forage around the clock near food sources — trail cameras keep confirming overnight movement.
Protect your property
Most visits end when there's nothing to eat. Work down this list and bears move on on their own.
- Garbage: freeze smelly scraps and put bins out only on pickup morning — never the night before.
- Fruit trees: pick ripe fruit daily and clear windfalls; a single loaded apple tree can hold a bear for weeks.
- Bird feeders: take them down until winter — a full feeder is a day's calories for a bear.
- BBQs: burn off residue and clean the grill after every use; store it inside if you can.
- Pet food & livestock feed: feed indoors and lock feed in a bear-proof container or shed.
- Compost: skip meat, fish and fruit scraps; turn it often and keep it covered.
- Doors & windows: keep ground-floor ones closed at dawn and dusk when bears are most active.
- Livestock & chickens: electric fencing is the only reliable deterrent — WildSafeBC can advise.
Community event
Grizzly Bear Recovery & Coexistence in the swiya–Sunshine Coast
An evening with Nicholas Scapillati, Executive Director of the Grizzly Bear Foundation — a conversation about the grizzly mother and her three young bears, and living alongside them.
Saturday, October 3 at 7 pm · Coopers Green Hall, Halfmoon Bay
Free community event — all welcome.
Community notice
Grizzlies are travelling through all our areas, including Sechelt
Fruit left on trees or on the ground is one of the biggest reasons bears keep coming back. Picking ripe fruit and clearing windfall now helps the whole neighbourhood.
Too much fruit to pick? The One Straw Society's Fruit Share Project can match you with volunteer pickers — the fruit goes into their food box program and teaches people how to preserve it. onestraw.ca/fruit
Please pass this on to neighbours — not everyone is on social media.
Learn more & gear up
Trusted resources and tools for understanding and living safely with bears.
Who to call
- Call
Immediate danger or aggressive animal
Call the Conservation Officer Service RAPP line — open 24/7.
- Call
Emergency, people at risk
Call 911 first, then RAPP.
- Call
Ongoing bear visits to your property
Report to RAPP so officers can track patterns and advise you before it escalates.
Attractant & fencing advice
WildSafeBC Sunshine Coast runs free property assessments and electric-fencing guidance.
Support WildWatch BC
WildWatch BC is free for everyone and always will be. Local support helps it get bigger and better. Supporters are clearly labelled and never change, rank or hide a single report.
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Sponsor one weekly sightings recap post that goes out to local Facebook groups.
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About WildWatch BC
WildWatch BC is independently run by neighbours on the Sunshine Coast. It is not a government service.
Reports are submitted by the community and are unverified. A report is one person's account, not a confirmed fact. No report doesn't mean no wildlife.
Supporters help cover running costs. They do not influence, rank or hide any report.
For anything urgent, call the Conservation Officer Service (RAPP) at 1-877-952-7277.
WildWatch BC never arranges removal or relocation. For anything urgent, call RAPP at 1-877-952-7277.