A bear gnawing on a fuel tank valve is suspected as the cause of a 1,000-gallon diesel fuel spill on British Columbia's west coast, wildlife officials said.

Sometime last weekend, a valve on the tank at a remote fishing camp in Rivers Inlet, 300 miles northwest of Vancouver, was opened, leading to a spill and creating an oil slick miles long, The Province newspaper in Vancouver reported.

Police found bite marks on a plastic bag placed over the valve, which Jacques Drisdelle, provincial coordinator for the Bear Aware advocacy group, told the newspaper isn't unusual.

A very hungry, desperate bear will go for fuel, he said. It has a sweet taste so they will consume fuel and oil.

Environmental crews put out containment booms Sunday but officials said it wasn't immediately known how long the diesel cleanup would take, the report said.

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