The Cortes Island Museum’s Wild Cortes exhibit is reopening at Linnaea Farm on Earth day, Thursday, April 22nd, with ‘the Big Three.’
Continue reading Wild Cortes reopens with the Big ThreeTag Archives: Whaletown Black Bear
Coexisting in Black Bear country
“This is black bear country. It has always been black bear country. Northern Cortes Island is likely where most of the bears live. Black bears can travel very far in one day and they are good swimmers. They do travel from island to island and there are likely year-round bears here. In the fall of 2019, there was a bear sighted at Blue Jay Lake. Then in April 2020, there was a black bear around Green Mountain. Since then, we’ve had conflicts with two bears: one in Whaletown and one in Squirrel Cove,” said Autumn Barrett-Morgan, a volunteer co-ordinator with the Friends of Cortes Island’s wildlife COEXistence program.
Continue reading Coexisting in Black Bear country
The Squirrel Cove Bear
Curt Cunningham first encountered the Squirrel Cove Bear while it was still a cub. Not knowing where the creature’s mother was, Cunningham took refuge inside the Cove Restaurant. No mother bear appeared and the cub disappeared into the woods. That was a year or more ago.
Continue reading The Squirrel Cove Bear
Whaletown’s Black Bear
Whaletown’s black bear is still on the loose – but its days may be numbered.
This summer, a black bear has made the rounds in Whaletown, on Cortes Island, eating up fruit, stealing honey, breaking in to a chicken coop and even attacking a pig (according to community reports on the Tideline and Facebook).
Continue reading Whaletown’s Black Bear