Bear Voluntarily Returns to Enclosure

Bear Voluntarily Returns to Enclosure

Last Updated: July 12, 2006 - 8:19 AM EDT
By Associated Press

GOLDEN, British Columbia -- Boo the runaway grizzly bear has returned on his own to his enclosure at a resort, apparently because of the ease of getting food and the end to the mating season, officials said.

After nearly three weeks on the lam after busting out of confinement, the 4-year-old bear ambled back into the 22-acre artificial enclosure Saturday, said Michael Dalzell, sales and marketing director at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort outside this town on the western slope of the Canadian Rockies.

Mobile News | Subscribe Online | Order Reprints "We believe he came back because he recognizes this as his comfort area and a reliable source of food," Dalzell said Monday.

Resort operators should have plenty of time to figure out how to keep Boo from getting loose again, he said.

"We feel that now that mating season is over, his urge to escape will be minimized," Dalzell said.

Boo escaped twice within two weeks last month, the second time on June 25, when he bashed a nearly 400-pound steel door off its four bolts, destroyed an electrical box while tearing through two electric fences and scrambled over a 12-foot fence anchored with two feet of steel below ground.

Between escapes, resort operators and officials in the provincial Environment Ministry contemplated neutering him, but he made his second getaway before they could act.

"We're working again with the MOE to find a solution," Dalzell said, adding that he couldn't say what solutions were being considered.

The bear has lived in the enclosure since his mother was illegally shot by a hunter in 2002. It's unclear how long he could fend for himself and, being used to humans, would likely be a problem if left to roam, experts said.

Boo's apparent desire for a mate caught his keepers off guard because grizzlies usually don't mature until age 5. Officials said the regular and easy supply of food might have enabled him to mature a year early.

The resort isn't taking any chances and has made the bear enclosure off-limits to visitors, at least for the summer, Dalzell said.