A search manager for Coquitlam Search and Rescue (SAR) says his vast experience hiking in the back country looking for lost people served him well when he recently encountered a bear while cycling on Burnaby Mountain.
Jim Delgrande was riding his mountain bike up the Trans-Canada Trail just a little ways past its junction with Mel’s Trail on Friday, Nov. 15, when he saw black bear ambling down the path toward him.
Delgrande, who's been hiking and biking in the woods for more than 40 years, said he knew he wasn’t going to be able to ride around the bruin, so he opted to roll back down and turn onto Met’s to allow the bear to continue on its way.
But instead, the bear decided to turn up Mel’s as well.
That’s when Delgrande gently laid down his bike and took out his mobile phone to record the encounter as he stood off to the side of the trail to let the bear carry on upwards.
“They are big and shouldn’t be underestimated,” said Delgrande of the black bear.
“But in general they don’t want to bother people.”
Delgrande, who used to teach at Simon Fraser University (SFU), said he rides the trails on Burnaby Mountain two or three times a week.
He explained he had one previous encounter there with a bear while cycling and a couple of others while walking as well as several more in the back country.
Delgrande said most of the bears he sees are a safe distance away and he’s never had a problem.
He said as long as you respect the bear, back off quietly in a close encounter and pay attention for any cubs, crossing paths with a bear isn’t likely to escalate into anything dangerous.
In a closed-in situation, though, like in a creek, Delgrande said it pays off to be as noisy as possible.
That’s what often happens in a search and rescue situation, he said, where constant radio chatter and searchers blowing whistles likely keeps any wildlife at a wary distance.
“My sense is that bears are just as happy avoiding you, if possible, as you are them,” Delgrande said.
