Latest news with #TexadaIsland
The Guardian
5 days ago
- The Guardian
Shooting of bear that swam to tiny Canadian island frustrates First Nations
The journey of Tex, a young grizzly bear that gripped public attention in Canada after swimming to a tiny populated island, came to a violent end this week after he was shot and killed without authorization, despite plans by Indigenous groups to relocate him. The four-year-old bear's landfall on 25 May on Texada Island, a tiny island off the west coast, set off a controversy between differing interpretations of how to treat wild predators. Its shooting on Tuesday has advocates calling for the British Columbia government to act faster when it comes to working with First Nations on environmental stewardship. Provincial officials have long insisted Tex posed a danger to residents. Although there was no order to kill the animal, they said it had already 'stalked' two people on the mainland before swimming to Texada, and had been moved once before. If the bear threatened public safety, they declared, conservation officers would need to respond. Local First Nations communities offered weeks ago to rehome the bear to their territories. But some of the island's 1,200 residents felt Tex should be euthanized instead, said Katrin Glenn, a longtime Texada resident and the creator of the 'Save Tex' Facebook group. 'I've always said, Texada Island is not safe for him. And it's not because of the land, it's not because of anything but the people here,' she said. 'We knew there were people driving around with guns.' The province's conservation officer service said on Tuesday it was investigating the death on the island of a grizzly bear, which they confirmed had been shot. Bear behaviour specialists said Tex was simply a young male bear gaining independence by exploring. Glenn said she saw Tex at the end of May around her farm perimeter. 'He had followed my fence line very respectfully,' she said. 'He was a very gentle bear.' In June, several First Nations communities offered a strategy to relocate the bear, and a coordinated effort between the Shíshálh, Tla'amin and Homalco First Nations to relocate the bear to Homalco territory was under way when Tex was killed. 'We are deeply saddened by this outcome. Tex's life mattered, and our Nations had come together in a good way to find a peaceful solution,' said Tla'amin Nation in a statement. Wayne McCrory, a biologist, wrote to the province last month highlighting his support for a proposal by the Mamalilikulla First Nation to move Tex. The nation's chief, John Powell, said on Wednesday he was devastated the bear was killed and angry the government was slow to listen to Indigenous communities. The CBC reported at the end of June that the three First Nations were still waiting for government officials to back their removal plan. 'I knew the writing was on the wall when there was resistance with the government,' Powell said, adding that 'it really has to examine its approach to this situation, because this is not the last time this will happen.' Randene Neill, the province's minister of water, land and resource stewardship, said on Tuesday that authorities had been working in partnership with the First Nations to move Tex. 'The timing [of the bear's death] is especially unfortunate,' Neill said. But Nicholas Scapillati, head of the Grizzly Bear Foundation, said the tragedy of Tex's death contained an important lesson for the province. 'I hope his death wasn't in vain and we do have a mechanism in place to take what can be actually learned from a situation like this,' he said. Powell noted that British Columbia passed legislation in 2019 to align with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and said the Tex incident showed the government still had a long way to go when it comes to consulting with First Nations. 'I hope they examine this result objectively,' he said. 'Their inaction was responsible for killing this bear.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Inside the secret plan to relocate a wayward B.C. grizzly bear
As people continue to mourn the loss of a wayward grizzly on an island off the B.C. coast, many are left wondering why the bear wasn't relocated to avoid what some say was its certain fate. In fact, despite the province's repeated claims that the bear had already been moved twice and thus wasn't a good candidate for relocation, a secret plan to transport him to a remote location was in place. "We had a very well thought-out plan and everybody on standby," said Erik Blaney, the shíshálh Nation's acting manager of lands and resources. "He would have been living his best life up there." That plan was laid to rest when conservation officers investigated a report that the grizzly had been shot and wounded, and then discovered its carcass earlier this week. Some local residents were shocked to find out about the relocation plan, given conservation officers' previous claims it would be impossible. Others think the bear could still be alive if they had been given information about the plan. But Blaney says social media and the misinformation that often comes with it made that impossible. Blaney, a legislator with the Tla'amin Nation, says the plan that he had hatched nearly three weeks ago was eventually approved by the province, with some minor changes. Details were kept under wraps and only shared with a handful of people. Some Texada Island residents — many of whom had asked for weeks for the bear to be relocated — are wondering why they weren't made aware of it. "It's unfortunate that the community wasn't [informed]," said Texada Island resident Daniel Cammiade. "[If we had] I think that it's quite possible that the bear would still be alive." Calls for relocation The five-year-old male grizzly was first spotted on Texada Island on May 25. Texada residents say the island is a predator-free community, and many were worried about the bear's presence. While some called for peaceful coexistence with the bear, many others wanted it relocated for its safety and their own. "It seems like things were left in the community's hands — a community that was not used to dealing with bears," Cammiade said. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service repeatedly told CBC News the bear wasn't a good candidate for relocation because it had already been relocated twice, but also said there was no "kill order" for the animal. Solution hatched By the end of June, Blaney's plan had been hatched. Working with the shíshálh, Homalco and Tla'amin nations, he wanted to trap the bear and move it to Bute Inlet, on Homalco territory, where it could live with other coastal grizzlies and be far enough away that it couldn't swim back. "I've worked up there for many years now and it's a pretty hard trek to get into town," Blaney told CBC News. "And there's plentiful salmon runs where we were going to drop them off and a really good pink salmon run expected this year." But the province didn't sign off on that plan. Blaney said the province told him that what they were asking was outside current policy — and that to capture and move the bear without a permit could lead to charges under the Wildlife Act. Change of plans Without informing the public, the province changed its mind. Speaking with CBC's On the Island guest host Kathryn Marlow Wednesday morning, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill confirmed that the plan was approved almost two weeks ago. "We had a meeting with the local nation there, the Homalco Nation, in partnership with the shíshálh Nation as well, who came up with a really robust, clear plan about how they wanted to translocate it in partnership with the Grizzly Bear Foundation," said Neill, who is also the MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. "After talking to all of our specialists and our team, we agreed to try this translocation." Blaney says the nations worked with provincial officials to remind them that the shíshálh and Tla'amin nations are self-governing, and the province had an obligation to work with them to manage their wildlife resources. "They can't just do the old paternalistic land and resource management around us or without us. Those decisions actually need to be made by the self-governing nations," he said. Kept a secret The exact plan was kept secret, Blaney says, in order not to compromise any of the details. Blaney didn't want people hindering relocation efforts by posting about the trap's location on social media. Texada Island residents had created a Facebook group to post information about the bear, including its location. He says getting the right trap to Texada Island had already been delayed because of a claim on social media that the bear had been shot last week. That led officers to reroute the trap to Pemberton to relocate a bear in that area, Blaney says, and it took days to move the animal and get the trap back to Texada. Blaney says the trap was ready to go Tuesday morning, the day conservation officers announced the bear had been shot. Later that morning, the grizzly was found dead. "We had six staff ready for deployment and the plan in place, helicopter on standby," he said. It was too late. The bear's death is still under investigation.
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Inside the secret plan to relocate a wayward B.C. grizzly bear
As people continue to mourn the loss of a wayward grizzly on an island off the B.C. coast, many are left wondering why the bear wasn't relocated to avoid what some say was its certain fate. In fact, despite the province's repeated claims that the bear had already been moved twice and thus wasn't a good candidate for relocation, a secret plan to transport him to a remote location was in place. "We had a very well thought-out plan and everybody on standby," said Erik Blaney, the shíshálh Nation's acting manager of lands and resources. "He would have been living his best life up there." That plan was laid to rest when conservation officers investigated a report that the grizzly had been shot and wounded, and then discovered its carcass earlier this week. Some local residents were shocked to find out about the relocation plan, given conservation officers' previous claims it would be impossible. Others think the bear could still be alive if they had been given information about the plan. But Blaney says social media and the misinformation that often comes with it made that impossible. Blaney, a legislator with the Tla'amin Nation, says the plan that he had hatched nearly three weeks ago was eventually approved by the province, with some minor changes. Details were kept under wraps and only shared with a handful of people. Some Texada Island residents — many of whom had asked for weeks for the bear to be relocated — are wondering why they weren't made aware of it. "It's unfortunate that the community wasn't [informed]," said Texada Island resident Daniel Cammiade. "[If we had] I think that it's quite possible that the bear would still be alive." Calls for relocation The five-year-old male grizzly was first spotted on Texada Island on May 25. Texada residents say the island is a predator-free community, and many were worried about the bear's presence. While some called for peaceful coexistence with the bear, many others wanted it relocated for its safety and their own. "It seems like things were left in the community's hands — a community that was not used to dealing with bears," Cammiade said. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service repeatedly told CBC News the bear wasn't a good candidate for relocation because it had already been relocated twice, but also said there was no "kill order" for the animal. Solution hatched By the end of June, Blaney's plan had been hatched. Working with the shíshálh, Homalco and Tla'amin nations, he wanted to trap the bear and move it to Bute Inlet, on Homalco territory, where it could live with other coastal grizzlies and be far enough away that it couldn't swim back. "I've worked up there for many years now and it's a pretty hard trek to get into town," Blaney told CBC News. "And there's plentiful salmon runs where we were going to drop them off and a really good pink salmon run expected this year." But the province didn't sign off on that plan. Blaney said the province told him that what they were asking was outside current policy — and that to capture and move the bear without a permit could lead to charges under the Wildlife Act. Change of plans Without informing the public, the province changed its mind. Speaking with CBC's On the Island guest host Kathryn Marlow Wednesday morning, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill confirmed that the plan was approved almost two weeks ago. "We had a meeting with the local nation there, the Homalco Nation, in partnership with the shíshálh Nation as well, who came up with a really robust, clear plan about how they wanted to translocate it in partnership with the Grizzly Bear Foundation," said Neill, who is also the MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. "After talking to all of our specialists and our team, we agreed to try this translocation." Blaney says the nations worked with provincial officials to remind them that the shíshálh and Tla'amin nations are self-governing, and the province had an obligation to work with them to manage their wildlife resources. "They can't just do the old paternalistic land and resource management around us or without us. Those decisions actually need to be made by the self-governing nations," he said. Kept a secret The exact plan was kept secret, Blaney says, in order not to compromise any of the details. Blaney didn't want people hindering relocation efforts by posting about the trap's location on social media. Texada Island residents had created a Facebook group to post information about the bear, including its location. He says getting the right trap to Texada Island had already been delayed because of a claim on social media that the bear had been shot last week. That led officers to reroute the trap to Pemberton to relocate a bear in that area, Blaney says, and it took days to move the animal and get the trap back to Texada. Blaney says the trap was ready to go Tuesday morning, the day conservation officers announced the bear had been shot. Later that morning, the grizzly was found dead. "We had six staff ready for deployment and the plan in place, helicopter on standby," he said. It was too late. The bear's death is still under investigation.
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
Plan was underway to relocate Texada grizzly
Vancouver Watch A plan was in the works to relocate a grizzly bear that was shot dead on Texada Island earlier this week.
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
B.C. First Nation says plan to move Tex the grizzly was underway before it was killed
A sign warning of a bear in the area is shown in Squamish, B.C., Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amy Smart A First Nation on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast says it is 'deeply saddened' by the shooting death of a grizzly bear on Texada Island this week. The Tla'amin First Nation says in a statement that it was working on a co-ordinated relocation effort for the bear with two other area nations before the bear, nicknamed Tex, was 'illegally shot, maimed and killed.' It says it held a ceremony on Tuesday to honour the spirit of Tex after taking custody of his remains. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it received a report from the RCMP on Tuesday that someone had shot and wounded the bear and it later reported finding the bear dead. The service said last month that the bear was not a good candidate for relocation because it had already been moved from other Sunshine Coast communities and had stalked people and harassed livestock. The nation's statement says their relocation plan had already been approved by conservation officials and it involved setting traps to safely move Tex to a remote area at the head of Bute Inlet, on the mainland about 100 kilometres northeast of Texada. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.
