A Coquitlam resident was treated to a surprise show last week when two black bears discovered her trampoline in the backyard.
Rose Waldron captured the interaction on video, sharing her thoughts on the situation as she watched from a safe distance.
“So much for this trampoline,” she said at one point.
At the beginning of the video, one of the bears is in the high net that surrounds the trampoline. The other stands outside, on the edge of the trampoline frame.
After several unsuccessful attempts to climb over the net, the bear on the outside finds its way inside, fighting briefly with the other bear on the bouncing surface before both animals lie down.
As he watches, Waldron notes that he doesn’t want to go outside and try to scare the bears for fear that they might get caught in the trampoline net and “freak out.”
When bears hibernate and become more active, they often find themselves in a man-made environment. This can lead to fascinating videos like Waldron’s, but it can also lead to significant property damage.
Earlier last week, Michael Colison, a resident of Trail, British Columbia, was surprised to find that his car had been torn apart by a black bear that was probably looking for food.
Bears that come to see humans as a food source are seen as a potential threat, and the BC Conservation Service often determines that they have no choice but to destroy them.
Data from the provincial government show that the months from May to October tend to see the highest number of black bears killed by conservation officials.
Between 2017 and 2022, an average of 13 bears were killed each April. In May, the average rose to 69, or more than two each day.
The average is even higher in October, when bears consume as many calories as they can to prepare for winter.
More than 500 polar bears were killed by conservationists in British Columbia last year, and Lucy Cadman, executive director of the North Coast Black Bear Society, says it is partly the product of people who do not accept assurances. of attractants to the heart.
In January, Kadman told CTV News that he believed people could change their behavior if they realized how many bears are killed each year.
“If people who have a garage keep their garbage and organic matter in the garage until the morning of the gathering, we would see a huge reduction in the amount of time bears spend in the community,” Kadman said at the time.
“We will always see them in the community and it’s just a matter of giving them a place and making sure we do our best to encourage them to stay.”
Tips for providing bear attractors are available on the provincial government’s website.
With files from Alice Kotik of CTV News in Vancouver
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