B.C. bears emerge from their dens, sparking excitement and heightened monitoring

Two of three orphaned grizzly bear cubs play at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove, B.C., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Grouse Mountain’s beloved grizzly bears have woken up from their long nap this week after about 144 days of hibernation.

Grouse Mountain took to its Facebook page to share the excitement, saying that Grinder and Coola, which were rescued as orphaned cubs and arrived at the Grouse Mountain Refuge in 2001, emerged from their 25th dormancy.

Grouse Mountain says Grinder and Coola are happy and healthy, and they are thrilled to see the snow following their 144-day-long winter nap.

The ski resort says this year also marks a big milestone for both bears as they both turned 25 and will also hit the quarter-century mark at the refuge.

Grinder and Coola were both born in January 2001, and about four months later, they were rescued after being orphaned in the wild. In September, they were brought to the Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife since there was no grizzly bear rehabilitation and release program available in B.C. at the time.

Meanwhile, as grizzly bears emerge from their dens in mid-April, the B.C. Conservation Office Services said this spring, officers will continue to broadly monitor the Bella Coola area, about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, where a grizzly bear attack occurred last fall.

A grizzly bear attacked a school group of about 20 students and staff on a field trip near Bella Coola, B.C., on Nov. 20, 2025, injuring 11 people.

Chief Samuel Schooner, Nuxalk Nation’s elected chief, said from a press conference last year that the attack was “one of the worst scenarios” the Nuxalk had encountered as a nation, as he praised the teachers.

“When they were tasked (with) making the ultimate decision of life and death, they chose to lay their lives on the line for their students,” he said, adding the children “are going to be around for many, many, many years” because of the teachers’ actions," said Schooner.

He said the attack was unprecedented and resulted in significant trauma to his community, but that the outcome could have been much worse.

David Karn, a spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, said in a statement that the Conservation Office Service has an officer working full time in the area who will continue to monitor and respond to all human-wildlife conflict complaints in the valley.

Karn said conversation officers have made efforts to capture the bear involved in last fall’s attack, and they will continue to monitor the area this spring.

“As spring is here and bears are emerging in Bella Coola, conservation officers in response to Human Wildlife Conflicts involving grizzly bears, will assess each bear that requires capturing to determine if further DNA testing is required,” said Karn.

Karn said conservation officers will collaborate with the Nuxalk Nation to identify and find solutions to safely coexist with bears.

This report by Nono Shen of The Canadian Press was first published April, 18, 2026.