We are all familiar with the cautionary notice “Don’t Feed the Bears”. As conscientious folks we generally follow this advice, and are pretty good at putting garbage in its place, into the bins which many of us have at the end of our driveways.
As a resident, I – and most residents – put the garbage out on Monday mornings, for local pickup. Renters, however, may not have that option, and so put their trash out on Friday night, or Saturday, or Sunday, into the ‘bear proof boxes’ provided on the property they have rented.
The problem now is that our local wildlife has discovered the joys of these large bento boxes – snacks to go! Available three days a week, in handy-to-open wooden containers.
We are so gifted to live in a natural preserve, surrounded by lakes and trees and rocks and all variety of creatures that call this mecca home. We live in their space, and it is our responsibility to protect them from our carelessness and inattention.
Anti-bear boxes work – if they are metal. Wooden ones are not effective, and do encourage scrounging. Beyond taxing neighbourhood goodwill when it comes to cleaning up the aftermath, the damage to property, and the strewing of (sometimes yucky) trash, accessible garbage encourages bears to continue to frequent our neighbourhoods instead of keeping to the wilds where they are safe, safe from us deciding that they have become a nuisance – because we all know what can happen to a nuisance bear.
I accept that dealing with the garbage at the end of the week can be a challenge, but if metal boxes are more strongly encouraged then I think residents – both human and fourfooted – will be better off.
Lorraine Campbell
