Editor:
On Friday, Oct. 4 a bear broke into our home on Lohn Road while we were out of town for several days. We had left the doors unlocked because our contractor was working on refinishing our numerous doors. The bear was able to open the lever style door in the kitchen, open and empty fridge, freezer, and any cupboards and drawers containing food. Our contractor, who discovered this on Saturday, traced his route from forcing the gate, down to the pond, around the house where he tried windows first and finally opened the kitchen door. After his lunch he walked through the cottage, which has the same sort of lever handle, without doing any damage, then forced his way through a weak area in the back fence.
Teddy’s Picnic included glass and plastic containers of honey, several packages of ground meat, a tortiére, a package of meatballs in sauce, all crackers and bread products, two jars of jam, a drawer full of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, a pound of sugar, flour, cheese, butter, and half a box of powdered laundry detergent. This bear also opened the green compost container. He walked through the entire house.
I grew up in Banff when bears in town were commonplace; they were tolerated until the year a grizzly killed the bank manager while he was running on the Fenland Trail. After Parks Canada introduced bear-proof garbage containers the incidence of bears in town dropped to near zero.
I’m pretty sure we were targeted because we were away, but also because, on two occasions this summer, we found plastic bags of garbage in our front yard where they had been left by an animal—bear, dog, or racoon—so my conclusion is that this incident is the direct consequence of occasional sloppy garbage management in the neighbourhood. We wash out all our recycling and have never had a problem ourselves in this regard.
This bear was courteous. Nothing was damaged and I worry for their safety. The history of most bears who become habituated to scavenging in this way often ends in the death of the bear. Autopsies of such bears by Parks Canada often reveal plastic, tinfoil, and other packaging materials in their stomach.
As soon as I heard what had happened I reported the incident to the BC Conservation phone line. I was told there were no wildlife officers available on the weekend on the Sunshine Coast. I missed calls on Tuesday and have not yet spoken with a wildlife officer.
Following a helpful hint from our contractor we are switching all our door handles from lever style to round handles. In the meantime, we keep all doors locked. The bear hasn’t returned as yet.
Wishing for safety, for wildlife and people.
Carole Harmon, Halfmoon Bay
