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A bear cub was killed in Whistler during the Ironman race on Sunday.
According to Bear Smart, conservation officers were called to the Alpine neighbourhood near Whistler Secondary School on July 24 around 7:45 p.m. Witnesses told officers that a sow had bluff charged a race competitor. The sow and two cubs were located in a nearby tree and tranquillized.
“One of the cubs became stuck, but they were able to retrieve it successfully,” said Conservation Officer Tim Schumacher.
The problem occurred when the sow began to gain mobility of the front of her body and officers noted something was wrong.
“We noticed the sow was on top of one of the cubs. By the time we were able to get the sow off, the cub had been suffocated,” explained Schumacher.
The mother and surviving cub have been relocated and are said to be doing well.
“Ironman was really good working with us ahead of time and trying to minimize those conflicts and providing us with support and resources,” he said. “We were able to respond quickly and reduce conflict as much as we could.”
During last year’s Ironman a sow and three cubs had to be tranquilized and relocated when the mother bluff charged a participant after becoming separated from her cubs.
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