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3rd grizzly in family of 4 killed in B.C.'s West Kootenay

   CBC News | Posted: August 28, 2026 1:36 AM | Last Updated:
   August 28

   Wildlife officials say bear had spent most of its life eating
   food from humans and was deemed high-risk

   Image | Grizzly bear family

   Caption: Three out of four grizzlies in a family that was
   frequenting Nelson, B.C., have been killed. (The Ursa Project)
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   A third grizzly in a family of four well-known bears in the
   West Kootenay has been killed.
   A sow and three yearlings attracted attention in the community
   of Nelson as they travelled throughout the community.
   Wildlife officials said they had become a danger as they were
   habituated to humans and rummaged through yards and garbage.
   The mother bear, which had previously been relocated from
   Nelson and returned, was killed earlier this month as was one
   of its yearlings, which the B.C. Conservation Officer Service
   said was not a suitable candidate for relocation due to its age
   and health. The young bear walked with a limp, either from
   injury or deformity.
     * More stories from the B.C. Interior

     * Grizzly bear family returns to Nelson, B.C., after
       attempted relocation

   The two other yearlings, a male and female, were relocated but
   soon turned up again in the community of Christina Lake.
   While the female has since moved on, officials say the male
   continued to frequent residential neighbourhoods and was deemed
   unsuitable for a second relocation attempt.
   The service said Thursday that "the male yearling was
   dispatched, in accordance with provincial human-wildlife
   conflict response guidelines."

Poor food sources

   Provincial wildlife biologist Garth Mowat said the "bears were
   really habituated to people."
   "We had lots of good indication that the bears had been eating
   human food for most years of their lives. We did this
   translocation as kind of a last effort and a hope that these
   bears would revert to wild food and we could save part of the
   family group."
   Andrew Milne with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said
   killing bears is only used as a last resort.
     * Young grizzly bear with limp killed in Nelson, B.C., sparks
       rally

   "Killing wildlife in the name of public safety takes a toll on
   all these officers," he said. "We don't take these decisions
   lightly and we try to do as much as we can with what we have."
   Mowat said with drought conditions throughout the B.C.
   Interior, berry crops are poor and more bears will be looking
   to come into communities in search of food. Officials are once
   again warning people to remove any possible attractants
   including fruit trees, garbage and bird feeders in order to
   prevent human-wildlife conflict.

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