Boo facing relocation when caught

CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 01, 2006

GOLDEN -- Like any male on the prowl, Boo the bear has only two things on his mind: sex and freedom. But his amorous wanderings may have cost him his home.

B.C.'s Ministry of Environment says Boo will not be able to return to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden until it can prove he will not be able to escape his nine-hectare compound again.

"He cannot go back to Kicking Horse Resort unless there are significant changes made to the security on the mountain," said Wayne Stetski, the ministry's regional manager for the Kootenay Region.

Boo -- who has escaped twice in a month to pursue his natural instincts -- was spotted this week with a new female companion.

Initially, the plan was to recapture Boo because he was raised in captivity and it was feared he would not be able to survive on his own. But after monitoring him for a week, resort spokesman Michael Dalzell said the resort is content to let him go, "as long as we don't see him get into trouble or come too close to humans."

Boo's adventures began on June 5 when he caught the scent of a nearby female grizzly (known as a sow) and tunnelled his way under a three-metre high electric fence.

A massive search party was called by the resort, and after two weeks at large he was tranquilized and brought back.

But within 48 hours, he was beyond digging for freedom.

Boo smashed his way through a 180-kilogram steel door, barreled through two electric fences and scrambled back over the 3.6-metre fence, which was then reinforced with 60 centimetres of steel below ground.