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2mo ago

Grizzly Bear ‘Tex’ on Texada Island Shot Dead as Investigation Begins

A probe has been launched with a necropsy planned after the bear was found shot dead days before a First Nations-backed relocation effort was set to proceed.

The grizzly at Shehtekwahn Bay on Texada Island. The bear swam over from Powell River, according to authorities.
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A grizzly bear at the Zoo Sauvage de St-Felicien in Saint-Felicien, Que. Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
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Overview

  • Conservation officers confirmed on July 14 that someone reportedly shot the tagged grizzly in the Van Anda area and recovered its carcass the next day.
  • The BC Conservation Officer Service and RCMP are leading the legal inquiry into the shooting and will perform a necropsy to establish cause of death.
  • Tex, an approximately four-year-old male grizzly, first swam to Texada Island on May 25 and had returned after two earlier relocations failed.
  • Tla’amin, shíshálh and Homalco First Nations had secured provincial approval to trap and move the bear to a remote site at the head of Bute Inlet.
  • Island residents were split between calls to relocate the bear and demands for lethal action, reflecting broader tensions over non-lethal wildlife management policy in British Columbia.