Hope conservationist demands answers to why bear cub was released alone

Hope conservationist demands answers to why bear cub was released alone

Published 1:38 pm Friday, September 25, 2026

What started as a couple of wandering bears on Sept. 20 ended with one of them dead and another abandoned in the wild, with a prominent Hope conservationist now demanding some answers to exactly how this happened.

Lydia Koot is the chair of the Hope Mountain Black Bear Committee, and she recently published an email to the provincial government regarding the decisions made about the curious bears.

The black bear and her cub walked into the Hope Pharmasave on Sunday (Sept. 20) and wandered around for a bit before leaving and continuing to stroll through other nearby areas of town.

As a result of this incident, the BC Conservation Officer Service killed the mother bear and released the cub back into the wild.

This decision has caused a lot of outrage online, especially from conservationists like Koot.

“I have been overwhelmed with messages, phone calls, etc.,” said Koot.

“This is a very hard time for Hope’s animal lovers.”

In her email to Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Koot asked for details on why the province decided to release the orphaned cub back into the wild instead of putting it into a rehabilitation centre.

She said that the cub’s age, health, and history are used by the provincial wildlife biologists to determine the proper course of action, with entry into a permitted rearing facility an available option for orphaned cubs.

Koot also posed the question as to whether animal rehabilitation organizations like Critter Care Wildlife Society or Northern Lights Wildlife Society were contacted before releasing the young black bear back into the wilderness.

Northern Lights Wildlife Society confirmed that they were not contacted due to Hope being out of their intake area, but said that they are always willing to assist wherever needed.

“I recognize that B.C.’s current guidance states that healthy black bear cubs approximately eight months of age may be capable of surviving independently,” said Koot.

“My concern is not simply whether independent survival is possible, but how the Ministry determined that it was the most appropriate option for this individual cub, based on its documented condition and circumstances.”

Koot encouraged other concerned residents to also email the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to pressure the government to provide information on this recent decision.

In addition to Koot’s email campaign, there has also been an online petition launched to get the provincial government to answer why this choice was made, with this Change.org petition accumulating more than 1,300 signatures in the first 72 hours.