The Other Trash Bandit – Bears

Sandy

On Vancouver Island it’s easy to identify the newcomers. See how long it takes for them to open a trash can. Or not.

My first time took about fifteen minutes. I went to a public trash can, tried to open the lid and found it locked. I circled the bin twice looking for alternate openings or secret buttons. I thought it might be like those automatic hand dryers and I tried waving at it. Nothing. Belatedly, it occurred to me that the box couldn’t be electronic since there was no power source. It was a squat and ugly steel box. Unplugged, unpowered and impenetrable. Eventually, I stuffed my litter in my pocket and took it home. As I walked away, I’m sure I heard someone sniggering in the bushes.

I found out later that the bins have a secret lever inside the handle. It’s a latch which only animals with opposable thumbs can squeeze to open. The design is common to all public trash bins in the Pacific Rim Park and area. With newer bins, it even has instructions on how to use.

The bins are a deterrent to the other trash bandits in Canada: Bears.

There are three types of bears here: polar bears, grizzly bears and black bears. The most common is the black bear, found in the forests of nearly every province and territory. Every province except for the nation’s smallest, Prince Edward Island. There’s not been a bear sighting in PEI since the 1930s … except for these teddy bears caught in a Covid inspired bear-hunt.

From: Atlasobscura.com

Bears are opportunistic omnivores. In the wild, they will eat forest fruit, berries, insects, coastal crustaceans and wild salmon. Given a chance though, they will happily feast on garbage and become dependant on food from dump sites and household garbage bins.

On Vancouver Island, people are constantly reminded to be Bear Aware and secure their garbage. Bear-proof garbage bins are recommended and failing that, garbage needs to be literally locked up. At my island home, garbage is stored in a big steel dumpster and secured with padlock & key.

Unlike the trash pandas (raccoons) in Toronto, the bear bandits are bigger than the average human. On all fours, black bears are about 90cm (3 feet) tall. Standing, from nose to tail they measure up to 180cm (6 feet) tall. Weighing in at 92 kg to 270kg (200-600lbs) they are an imposing sight. Bears typically avoid people but they can become acclimatized to humans and territorial about food sources. Which is all bad news if their food source is your garbage bin.

So, what do you do if you encounter a bear? Here’s what the Parks & Rec people say:

From: Ontario.ca

But depending on who & where you are, your response to a bear in your backyard may differ.

Bear-safe in Toronto, Canada. April 2021

19 Comments

    1. Oh gheez. I hope it’s not the same now and people are more conscientious. In Ucluelet people get *very* vocal on the Facebook community board when folks leave their garbage unsecured.

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  2. Lol. Oh the fun I have when typing on my small phone keypad! ‘Crowds’ of crows sounds like something from a Hitchcock film. 😛. It feels a bit like that here sometimes. I even have magpies coming in the house, as you know.

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  3. The Finnish reaction is hilarious, although I felt sorry for the bear, as he is just trying to survive too.
    I think we need the bin locks here to keep the crowd and Ibis from rummaging through the contents!

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    1. Don’t feel too sorry for the bear. If the bears become too acclimatized to humans & garbage, they have to relocated and worse case shot. I’d rather see them wild & alive.

      On your bin locks … do you mean crowds of people are rummaging thru the garbage? That must be upsetting. I think your Ibis must be like our seagulls. Pesky pesty birds.

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      2. Accidentally pressed send a bit soon. No people are not rummaging thru the garbage!!!! We have welfare!! Lol. It is the pesky birds – crows and Ibis are the worst offenders.

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        1. I’m glad to hear that it’s crows and not crowds. It wasn’t how I imagined your town to be 🙂

          Crows are pretty scary. I don’t know about yours, but on Vancouver Island they are pretty big, aggressive with beady evil eyes. They remind me of Alfred Hitchcook’s movie The Birds. Which come to think of it, is also in a little seaside village …

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  5. Hi, Sandy – Your Canada/Finland video totally cracked me up. Our house backs on to a heavily forested area with lots of wildlife, including bears. People asking bears to pretty please go on their way is pretty common around here. Thank you for the evening smile.

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  7. Been there, done that with the garbage bins! In Washington State I used to see black bears once in a while, but always at distance. Never had a close encounter. My favorite black bear story was of a young woman camping in the Olympic Mountains. She wanted to attract deer to her campsite so put out a trail of M&Ms, with predictable results! No one was hurt, but I did wonder what she thought deer eat.

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        1. I haven’t had any close encounters myself. In fact, when we went boating explicitly to see bears, they stayed well away!
          I certainly hope to get back to Vancouver Island this year. But it’ll probably be later in the fall when hopefully most have been vaccinated. Our rate of vaccination is frustratingly slow, much slower than the US.
          Are you planning on visiting the PNW Graham?

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