WATCH: Residents of a Metchosin neighbourhood are on edge after a terrifying encounter with a black bear. Ceilidh Millar reports. Warning: these images may be disturbing to some readers.
Melanie Torbey was playing with her children outside her parents’ home in Metchosin when she was startled by a terrifying sound.
“We were watching the kids and all of a sudden we heard this noise,” Torbey explained.
Torbey then spotted a large black bear in the wooded area behind the home.
The animal had attacked and killed one of her neighbour’s pet goats.
Neighbour Al Epp heard the commotion and ran to help.
“I looked in there and here there was this big black bear that had the goat by the neck,” Epp said. “It dropped it and then went over to the fence once. Then it went back, picked it up again and dragged it over the fence. By that time the goat was dead and it left it laying on the path.”
Epp managed to scare off the bear before contacting conservation officers.
The attack happened in a residential area on Kevere Road around 10:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Neighbours say they saw the bear climb the fenced area where the goat was kept on the property.
The owners, who had a second goat on the property, have relocated that animal to a farm in Sidney.
Residents say conservation officers have created a trap in between the properties to try and catch the bear.
“They told us they don’t normally attack humans that is not something they normally do,” said neighbour Farzad Kavehzad. “The [officers] said they don’t usually attack animals either.”
Anyone who sees a bear that is acting threatening or aggressive is encouraged to contact conservation officers in their area. To report a conflict with wildlife that threatens public safety, call 1-877-952-7277.
Ceilidh Millar
