qathet resident starts campaign to get grizzly relocated

After being spotted on the qathet mainland, and now on Texada Island, the fate of a four-year-old grizzly bear remains unknown. The last known sighting of the bear was Sunday, June 1, near Mount Pocahontas. That's also the location of Rock Island Farm, owned by Katrin Glenn-Bittner, where she has lived and raised horses and cattle for 15 years.

Instead of being fearful of the bear, Katrin wants to have it relocated, instead of potentially destroyed by conservation officers, who are currently on Texada monitoring the situation.

Yesterday, Katrin posted the following to the Texada Island message board: "My brother, doctor David Bittner, who is a bear researcher from Switzerland, my partner Kelly Hughes and I, residents of Texada Island, are working hard on a relocation plan for Tex the bear, that is roaming Texada Island.

"My brother is in contact with two wildlife experts from the University of Victoria to get Tex GPS collared and relocated once more to a suitable wilderness area where he can hopefully safely remain in the wild."

The Peak contacted Katrin about her campaign to relocate the grizzly, and to talk about a recent sighting of the bear near her farm.

"We also believe that this bear, which has not caused any serious incidents, deserves a chance," said Katrin. "I launched a direct Facebook site about Tex, where people can follow and monitor our plan of action."

She is urging residents to be bear smart in the meantime, and to make properties and homes as unattractive to a bear as possible.

"I have a 10-acre property right behind Pocahontas mountain," said Katrin. "I haven't personally seen the bear, but my partner Kelly took a photo of tracks that look like they are from the bear." 

Katrin said she spoke to conservation officer Jacob Clausen a few days ago.

"He [Clausen] said he was thrilled to hear of a proactive movement, instead of just not wanting the bear shot," said Katrin. "He shares my enthusiasm about bears, but when we talked on Saturday there has not been any further response."

She said she wants to raise funds to get a GPS collar for the bear and to finance a relocation effort.

"My brother is a biologist who has been going to Katmai National Park [Alaska] for 25 years," said Katrin. "He's a bear guide up there as well as a photographer; he also gives educational speeches to school classes."

Katrin and David were born in Switzerland, a country that was thought to be bear-free. But bears have returned to that country, with mixed reviews from residents.

"It's a similar story to what's going on in Texada," explained Katrin. "We have a return of bears into Switzerland now as well, so there are a lot of people who need to be educated."

She said Texada is known to be predator free, but that could change over time. Instead of demonizing the animal, she hopes folks can start to understand bear behaviour in order to not fear them.

"I talked to my brother on Saturday morning, and that's when he got this whole thing rolling," said Katrin. "He said, ‘we need to be proactive’; the only reason why we're doing this is because conservation officers have relocated Tex twice already."

However, the tagged bear is back once again, most likely trying to find new territory and a mate.

"I have livestock and I'm not worried," said Katrin. "The only reason my partner noticed the track is because of my son, Cody. He came to me at about 8:30 in the evening, and said, 'Mom, the horses are acting weird.'"

Katrin said she noticed her horses were unusually alert and acting anxious; she believes it was because the bear was around.

"I thought it was the neatest thing, because our youth, they don't pay attention to body language these days," said Katrin. "But he observed my horses and knew instantly [the bear] could be right in the area."

The Peak has reached out to Clausen and Katrin's brother David for comment, and is waiting to hear back.

To learn more about Katrin's campaign, called: Save Tex - The Texada Island Grizzly Bear, go to Facebook and search for “Save Tex - The Texada Island Grizzly Bear.”

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