Living with wildlife

Welcome to a complex place

When you visit Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, you enter a place where people and wildlife have shared the same lands and waters for thousands of years. Your actions—where you walk and how you behave—directly affect your safety, the safety of wildlife, and the experience of other visitors.

First Nations have long lived in respectful relationship with the animals who also call the coast home. Their teachings of iisaak (respect), hišukʔiš ćawaak (everything is one), and ʔuuʔałuuk (to take care of) guide how Parks Canada approaches human wildlife coexistence. This understanding also shaped Parks Canada’s six year Wild About Wolves project, which examined what supports or undermines safe coexistence. Learn more through our video series featuring Elders and Parks Canada staff on the Wild About Wolves web page.

Why Coexistence Matters

Coexistence means sharing space with wildlife safely and respectfully. In a national park reserve, this responsibility is even greater. These lands and waters are cooperatively managed to protect ecological and cultural values, and every visitor is invited to enter as a steward. Remember:

• Wildlife relies on these habitats for survival.
• Human behaviour directly shapes animal behaviour.
• A single food reward, photo opportunity, or close encounter can alter an animal’s natural patterns—often with serious consequences.
• Respecting wolves, bears, and cougars is also an act of respect toward the First Nations, whose cultural and spiritual identities are closely connected to these animals.

Your Role: Staying safe and respecting wildlife

This coastline is home to wolves, bears, cougars, shorebirds, and many other species. Knowing how to behave in their territory is essential to respecting wildlife—and keeping yourself safe.

Prevent wildlife encounters

To prevent unsafe situations for yourself, your dog, wildlife, and others:

• Stay informed of and respect all closures, warnings, and restrictions. Visit the Important Bulletins page for details.
• Keep your distance by staying 100 m or more from wolves, bears, and cougars.
• Keep children close.
• Leave dogs at home; or if you bring them where they are currently permitted, keep them close on a leash, and under control. Visit our Dogs and Pets web page for full details.
• Secure all food, garbage, and attractants.
• Stay alert for signs of wildlife, such as tracks and droppings.
• Avoid hiking alone or in low-use areas.
• Carry bear spray that is accessible and know how to use it.
• Visit Parks Canada’s “Top tips to respect wildlife and stay safe.”

Keep a “bare” campsite

A “bare” campsite means keeping all food, garbage, and anything with a scent fully secured at all times. Whether you’re camping, picnicking, or relaxing on the beach, never leave attractants unattended—not even briefly. Store everything in a hard sided vehicle or food locker; tents and tent trailers are never safe for storage.

Many everyday items attract wildlife. Pack these away whenever you’re not actively using them:

• Coolers (full or empty)
• Food, garbage, wrappers, recycling
• Pet food and bowls
• Toiletries, sunscreen, insect spray
• Dishes, cookware, stoves, barbecues, and cleaning items
• Grey water containers

Keeping a “bare” campsite protects wildlife from becoming food conditioned and helps ensure animals stay alive. Campers who fail to comply with the requirements of the “bare” campsite program may have their camping permit cancelled, with no refund, and may be charged under the Canada National Parks Act and Regulations.

Prepare for wolf, bear, or cougar encounters

Generally, these tips apply to all large animal encounters. For specific information on bears, visit “You are in Bear Country.”

• Stay calm and do not run.
• Stand your ground: act big, make noise, and maintain eye contact.
• Back away slowly and give the animal at least 100 metres of space.
• Gather your group and pick up small children or pets.
• If the animal approaches, be prepared to use bear spray. If the animal does not leave, throw objects and fight back if necessary.
• Do not linger or take photos. Leave the area as soon as it is safe to do so.
• Report all wolf sightings immediately to Parks Canada’s Emergency Dispatch: 1-877-852-3100 or 250-726-3604.

Give wildlife space and help keep them wary of people

Animals remain safest when they stay naturally wary of people. When cars, boats, or visitors get too close, animals can become habituated, losing their natural caution around people and busy areas. They may also become food conditioned if they learn to associate humans with food, which can lead to increasingly bold and dangerous food seeking behaviour.

If you see wildlife near a road or shoreline, slow down and do not stop. When safe, a gentle honk can remind the animal that roads and vehicles are not safe places to linger.

Stopping to view wildlife creates dangerous conditions. It can:

• teach animals that vehicles and highways are harmless, increasing the risk of collisions
• create sudden hazards for other drivers and cyclists
• lead to “bear jams,” causing wildlife to run into traffic

Whether on land or on the water, always keep your distance:

• 100 m or more from bears, wolves, and cougars
• 100 m from most marine mammals and 200 m from killer whales

More distance is always safer—for you and for wildlife.
Report bear, wolf, and cougar sightings to Parks Canada at 250 726 3604.

Do not approach wildlife to take photos

Never approach or search for wildlife—such as wolves, bears, or cougars—for photography. Seeking out animals or trying to get close for a picture is dangerous for both you and the wildlife. It is also illegal.

If you happen to encounter an animal unexpectedly, give it plenty of space and follow the guidelines above.

If you are fortunate enough to observe wildlife from a safe distance, use a telephoto lens or binoculars. Always prioritize the animal’s safety and your own by maintaining your distance.

Respond appropriately to sick or injured wildlife encounters

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve makes decisions about sick or injured animals using the First Nations principles of hišukʔiš ćawaak (everything is interconnected) and ʔuuʔałuuk (to take care of). Sometimes this means letting nature take its course so one animal’s death can support the wider ecosystem. In other cases—when an animal has a reasonable chance of recovery, poses a risk to people, or when cultural considerations apply—staff may intervene. These decisions are complex and are made in consultation with local First Nations and wildlife experts.

This approach also applies to marine mammals. Many well meaning visitors approach seals or sea lions resting on the beach, thinking the animals are in danger. This can cause significant stress to the animals. In some species, including seals and sea lions, pups are often left alone for many hours while the parent forages. Interference may cause adults to abandon their young.

If you are concerned that an animal might be sick or injured, call Parks Canada’s 24 hour Dispatch: 250 726 3604. Remember to:

• Give the animal plenty of space. Your presence can cause stress and reduce its chance of recovery.
• Keep dogs on leash and move them away. Pets can significantly increase wildlife stress.
• Do not touch the animal. Wildlife can carry diseases, and handling them is unsafe for both people and animals.
• Leave the animal where it is. Removing wildlife from the national park reserve is illegal without a signed permit.

Legal Reminder

Approaching, following, feeding, moving, or disturbing wildlife is illegal in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Violators may be charged under the Canada National Parks Act (maximum penalty: $25,000).

Your choices help directly impact the safety of both animals and visitors.

Why reporting wildlife early matters

Reporting wildlife observations does not mean an animal will be destroyed. Lethal action is always the very last resort, taken only when all other options have failed and when public safety is at serious risk.

Early reports help staff understand where animals are moving, how they are behaving, and whether they are starting to show signs of habituation. When Parks Canada is alerted early about wildlife approaching people, roadsides, or developed areas, staff can often take preventative action—such as hazing (scaring an animal away) or educating visitors about how to avoid attracting predators.

Relocating “problem animals” is rarely effective and often puts the animal at greater risk. Suitable territories are usually already occupied by other animals, relocated predators often return to their original range, and harmful behaviours (such as seeking human food or garbage) do not disappear.

When wildlife reports come after an animal has already become food conditioned or fully habituated, options become far more limited—and intervention may no longer be enough to save its life.

We all have a role to play in making sure animals can thrive naturally.

Who else is learning to live with wildlife?