COQUITLAM, B.C., September 22, 2025 – As fall arrives, local bears are busy searching for food to prepare for winter hibernation. Residents can do their part by securing any attractants that might encourage bears to visit their property.
Bear Activity Increases in the Fall
In autumn, bears enter a phase called hyperphagia, when they need extra calories to bulk up before winter. This natural drive sends them searching for food. Bear sightings are common in Coquitlam, and often times, bears are just passing through neighbourhoods to move between their natural habitats. If bears cannot find easy food in residential areas, they will simply move along.
How Can You Help?
Residents can take simple steps to make their homes and yards bear-resistant:
- Secure Your Attractants: Store garbage, green waste and recycling in a garage or heavy-duty enclosure, and only put carts out after 5:30 a.m. on the morning of collection day – never the night before. Keep lower level windows, entrances and garage doors secured.
- Keep Carts and Bins Odour-free: Freeze strong smelling food waste until collection day and regularly clean carts.
- Keep your Yard Clean: Pick fruit from trees, remove or suspend bird feeders, clean up spilled seed, and don’t forget to bring pet food inside.
- Be a Good Neighbour: Take the Bear Smart Pledge and share what you know with friends and neighbours to help keep wildlife safe.
Why It Matters
Leaving garbage and green waste accessible to bears is risky – both for residents and wildlife. Under City bylaws, allowing wildlife access to unsecured carts can result in a $500 fine. Feeding wildlife is also illegal under the Provincial Wildlife Act. By securing and removing attractants, residents can help keep bears wild and safe.
If you see a bear:
- Stay calm and keep at least 100 metres away.
- Do not scream, run or approach the bear.
- Speak in a calm, low voice while slowly backing away.
- Warn others in the area.
Reducing Bear Conflicts Together
As one of 12 designated Bear Smart communities in B.C., Coquitlam uses a mix of education and enforcement to raise awareness and ensure everyone is doing their part to keep both bears and humans safe.
To report wildlife attractants, including garbage or green carts set out curbside the night before collection, contact Bylaw Enforcement at 604-927-3580 or BylawEnforcement@coquitlam.ca.
To report a conflict with wildlife that threatens public safety or causes property damage, call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
Learn more about bear safety and City requirements at coquitlam.ca/BearSmart.
Media contact:
Julie Kanya
Manager Environmental Education and Enforcement
604-927-3500
epw@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.