Downtown Revelstoke was the scene of a real bear jam as locals and tourists gathered to watch Mounties and Conservation Officers, assisted by firefighters and paramedics, deal with a treed bear on First Street West at Campbell Avenue beside Home Hardware. The two-and-a-half-year-old bear was known to some people in the community as Panda, which is unfortunate because it suggests that the bear was hanging around Revelstoke long enough to gain a name and a certain degree of familiarity. COs placed a mattress on the pavement beneath the tree he was in. You can see that in the lower left-hand side of this image. Please click on the photo to see the image in a larger format. David F. Rooney photo
By David F. Rooney
Downtown Revelstoke was the scene of a real bear jam as locals and tourists gathered to watch Mounties and Conservation Officers, assisted by firefighters and paramedics, deal with a treed bear on First Street West at Campbell Avenue beside Home Hardware.
The two-and-a-half-year-old bear was known to some people in the community as Panda, which is unfortunate because it suggests that the bear was hanging around Revelstoke long enough to not only gain a name but a certain degree of familiarity and habituation to humans.
Here’s a sequence of photos that illustrates this Friday morning spectacle from start to finish:
Concerned about the possibility that Panda might be seriously injured if he fell and missed the mattress, COs Mike Richardson and Terry Myroniuk enlisted a flat-bed truck from Classic Collision, which they positioned beneath Panda, who position is marked by the red circle. They then placed the mattress on the truck deck. David F. Rooney photoThe spectacle, which started at about 11:30 am and continued until just past 12:30 pm, brought out all kinds of people, many of them armed with cameras or smart phones. David F. Rooney photoCO Terry Myroniuk prepared his dart gun. David F. Rooney photoHe takes aim… David F. Rooney photoAnd waits to see if Panda would fall out of the tree. Unfortunately, nothing happened for quite some time and about 20 minutes later Myroniuk darted Panda again. David F. Rooney photoThat second dart did the trick and Panda fell to the mattress like a sack of spuds. David F. Rooney photoHere lies poor Panda — stoned to the gills after getting darted twice. David F. Rooney photoEveryone wanted photos of poor Panda. David F. Rooney photoEmergency personnel lifted Panda off the truck… David F. Rooney photo… and moved him into the back of the COs’ field truck. David F. Rooney photoThey barely had time to get him settled before bystanders rushed forward to take photos and caress the unconscious animal. David F. Rooney photoIn fact, for a moment it looked as though a horde of paparazzi had descended on Revelstoke. David F. Rooney photoThe Conservation Officers took Panda away for an assessment. What ultimately happened to him is not known. Bye bye Panda. David F. Rooney photo
