Prince George, B.C.-  It may be cold,  and one would think the bears  have hunkered down for the season,  but  that was not the case for a cub in Prince George.

Deputy Chief Chris Doyle of  the BC Conservation Officer Service says  a  lone cub was  discovered in Prince George   yesterday.  “The temperature was minus 24 and  an  orphaned bear cub was found on a road,  alone.  There was no sight of the sow bear.   Conservation Officers were able to   capture this bear, and it is being transported to the Northern Lights Wildlife Sanctuary near Smithers where it will be kept over the winter and hopefully released   back in its home range next spring.”

The outlook for the  cub’s  future   looks good says Doyle ” This  bear wasn’t a conflict animal,  it had no conflict history  and  therefore was determined to be a good candidate  to (go to)  the rehab facility.”

Doyle says  despite the cold weather,  some bears have not  yet denned,  and  are  continuing to search for food.  He  reminds  the public that it is illegal to  feed  wildlife “Birdfeeders are a powerful attractant to bring bears into communities.  We need  people to help us getting these bears to den by  removing attractants where they are accessible  to bears.”

Human wildlife conflicts  have not taken a break in the province  with  Doyle saying  there was a serious incident  near Smithers involving a wolf. Last week in Smothers a wolf stalked and killed a cross country skier’s dog.  the skier was with  his dog on  the trails when  the dog was  attacked and killed by the wolf.  The wolf then followed the skier to the parking lot area.  C.Os did respond and investigated the incident.   The trails were closed for a period of time,  but I have been advised that as of yesterday, the trails have been re-opened and there has been no further  conflict reported with those wolves.”

Off Road Vehicle enforcement  continues and will  be active  to ensure snowmobilers are not accessing  areas which are off limits in an effort to protect herds of Mountain Caribou.  “It is an on going  issue” says Doyle,  who says  snowmobilers  must check to ensure they are not entering  zones  within the Omineca-Peace region, and Thompson-Kootenay areas.  “COs will  be conducting enforcement operations this winter to protect Mountain Caribou.  The high country of B.C.’s interior wet belt provides good habitat  which is ideal  for Mountain Caribou, and is also attractive to snowmobilers and  other back country users.  Snowmobilers do  affect  Mountain Caribou as it may cause them to move to less suitable habitat where the foraging  is not as efficient and deeper terrain  may  cause  hazards,  deplete their energy  and packed trails ( by snowmobilers) can provide easy access for predators.”  Doyle says patrols will be  done by ground and air to  spot  and  apprehend  anyone   who ventures into the closed areas.   A violation could result  in a fine of up to $50 thousand dollars.