VICTORIA -- Mounties on the West Shore of Vancouver Island are warning the public that a large adult black bear has returned to the area.
The bear was reportedly spotted Wednesday morning in the 100-block of View Royal Avenue.
Conservation officers have been notified and police are asking the public not to approach the animal.
The warning comes after the same bear was spotted in View Royal's Portage Park area on Monday morning. Conservation officers and police asked people at the time to avoid the area and keep pets on leashes.
On Tuesday night, police in Saanich also warned residents that a bear had been spotted on the sidewalk along McKenzie Avenue near Saanich Road. A later report put the bear in the Morris Drive area. Conservation officers were again notified.
By 10 a.m., Saanich police said the bear was again spotted on Wolsey Place, heading into Konukson Park.
In Langford on Monday, a large adult bear that had become habituated to eating garbage was euthanized.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says the bear was seen in the Millstream Road area of Langford multiple times over the past several days and had adopted urban foraging behaviour.
Conservation officer Scott Norris said the three- to five-year-old bear had become a danger to the community.
The conservation service is reminding residents to secure garbage cans and to put them indoors if possible, to avoid attracting bears.
Norris said that anyone who leaves unsecured garbage cans out, or other items that may attract bears, could face fines.
Reports of bear sightings have spiked across the island this year, according the conservation service.
Norris believes the increase in bear sightings is likely related to an increase in bear populations on Vancouver Island.
