Skip to content

Dash cam snaps photo of black bear near Townsend Park in Chilliwack

The adult bear was ‘just a couple hundred yards away from people playing baseball,’ said motorist
22492613_web1_200822-CPL-Black-Bear-Dash-Cam-Townsend_1
A black bear as photographed by Darren Petkau’s dash cam on Aug. 18, 2020. (Darren Petkau/ Submitted to The Chilliwack Progress)

Wildlife like squirrels and birds are a pretty common sight when driving around town, but one Chilliwack motorist witnessed something a lot more substantial than a small animal earlier this week.

Darren Petkau was heading east along Wolfe Road when he saw an adult black bear wandering near Townsend Park.

It was “just a couple hundred yards away from people playing baseball,” he said.

The dash cam in his car snapped a photo as he drove past.

The bear can be seen walking near the chainlink fence which surrounds a Chilliwack Fire Department training facility and the new Rotary Service Building on the south side of Wolfe Road.

The sighting happened on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 18, which falls within the same timeline as several other sightings of a black bear in Chilliwack.

On WildSafeBC’s ‘Wildlife Alert Reporting Program’ website, there were multiple sightings of a black bear about three kilometres away in the area of Young Road and Fourth Avenue between Aug. 17 and Aug. 20.

According to WildSafeBC, our province has some of the highest populations of black bears in the world with estimates ranging from 120,000 to 150,000 animals.

RELATED: VIDEO: Chilliwack man spots black bear, two cubs near Seabird Island

RELATED: VIDEO: Black bear hops backyard fence to say hello to Abbotsford family


 

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on?
Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Twitter: @PhotoJennalism

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



Jenna Hauck

About the Author: Jenna Hauck

I started my career at The Chilliwack Progress in 2000 as a photojournalist.
Read more