O’Brien Provincial Park is back open to the public after Fish & Wildlife officers captured a young grizzly bear. The roughly three-year-old, 288 pound bear is believed to be the aggressive one spotted feeding on a moose carcass just west of the park Monday night.
The remains were moved inside the park, it was closed, and traps were set up. Brendan Cox with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General says the bear was caught in one of those traps Thursday afternoon.
“They’d set in the park some culvert traps, which is essentially a giant metal cylinder with a sliding sort of gate at one end. When an animal goes in, that’s triggered and it slides shut, so the bear was captured in that.”
It has since been given a check up and is reportedly in good health. Cox says it will be given an ear tag and relocated south of Grande Prairie Friday afternoon.
“It’ll be taken to somewhere where there’s good food and water for it and where there’s not so many people.”
Cox admits it can be difficult to say for sure that the bear they captured is the one that was being aggressive before, he says they are pretty confident it is the same one based on the experience of the officers involved.
Anyone who encounters a bear or other large wildlife can phone the 24-hour Report-A-Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800 to get help. Tips on dealing with bears can also be found online.