By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
Two bears have been seen regularly in the village of Tobermory in recent weeks. The more brazen of the two is less than full size — probably a two-year old. It has been reported around the Little Tub Harbour area in daylight on several occasions. The other is a full-size adult bear, which has been recorded on security cameras as it ransacks compost heaps in the middle of the night. (Google “composting in bear country” to get some good ideas on how to make your compost less attractive to bears.)
Some properties have been leaving garbage out on Sunday for the Monday pickup. Garbage rarely survives overnight without being strewn widely, presumably by bears. Many residents believe this is a factor in attracting bears to the village.
As Canada enters a seventh wave of COVID 19, Grey-Bruce in general and the peninsula in particular find themselves in an odd position. Our area seems to have a relatively low incidence of COVID at the moment, according to Ontario Science Table, although this may in part reflect a near total lack of testing. In any case, this seems unlikely to last. COVID incidence is much higher to the south and southeast of us, and appears to be getting worse — wastewater signal (which measures the amount of COVID in sewage and is considered a leading indicator of outbreaks) is rising rapidly in southwestern Ontario and even more rapidly in the Greater Toronto area. As thousands of people from those areas visit the peninsula every day, our exposure seems bound to increase.
Might be a good idea to hold on to those masks for awhile yet.
