Grizzly bear on the loose in Whitehorse

Conservation officers in Whitehorse are warning people of a grizzly bear roaming around the Porter Creek and Takhini neighbourhoods, feasting in several residents' compost and garbage carts.

Officers have set up bear traps in the hopes of catching the wandering male bear, which knocked over waste carts at several homes on Monday morning. The bear was still on the loose as of Monday afternoon.

"It's a three-year-old grizzly, we think, between three to four years old," conservation officer Ken Alderson told CBC News.

"All he's doing is wandering around the neighbourhood right now, and he has gotten into some garbage at three different residences."

Bins not bear-proof

Alderson said the city's relatively new residential garbage and compost containers are attracting bears, leading to problems such as Monday's grizzly bear visit.

"They're not bear-proof, they don't seal, and they ferment in there," Alderson said. "That's an issue that we're going to have to take up with the city on this, because it attracts them."

But Wayne Tuck, the city's manager of environmental services, argued that Whitehorse residents have always put out their garbage in curb-side pickup bins that bears could easily get into.

"I think the fact that we're providing separate containers is not making a more aggravated situation," Tuck said.

In the meantime, Alderson warned residents to stay off wooded trails near the Porter Creek and Takhini neighbourhoods, at least until the bear is trapped or moves elsewhere.