ALERT BAY, B.C. — A nearly week-long holiday of swimming and munching on berries has come to an end for two grizzly bears that have been caught on a tiny island just off the north-east tip of Vancouver Island.
Village of Alert Bay chief administrative officer Justin Beadle says the two- to-three-year-old bruins were captured within a few hours of each other on Thursday morning, much to the relief of residents on Cormant Island.
The two males swam to the island, about 350 kilometres north of Nanaimo, last Friday.
Beadle says grizzlies are not native to the area and the presence of the two bears caused some concern among the roughly 1,000 residents of Alert Bay, forcing them to drive children to school, pack up fishing equipment, and take other bear-proofing precautions.
The bears are believed to be siblings who island-hopped to Alert Bay in search of new territory after being forced off the central coast by a dominant male.
Beadle says provincial officials will decide the fate of the grizzlies, but the entire community hopes they will be relocated to a safe area in their original home on the central coast.
