Last week, a Coquitlam resident was shown a surprising show when two black bears discovered a trampoline in her backyard.
Rose Waldron caught the interaction on video, sharing her thoughts on the situation as she watched from a safe distance.
“Too much for that trampoline,” she said at one point.
As the video begins, one of the bears is inside the tall net that surrounds the trampoline. The other was standing outside, on the edge of the trampoline frame.
After several unsuccessful attempts to climb over the net, the bear outside found its way in, grappling with another bear on the bouncing surface before both animals lay down.
Waldron noted as she observed that she didn’t want to go outside and tried to scare away the bears, fearing that they might get caught in the trampoline net and “panic”.
As bears come out of hibernation and become more active, they often find themselves in man-made environments. That can lead to glamorous videos like Waldron’s, but it can also lead to significant property damage.
Earlier this week, Trail, BC resident Michael Allison was surprised to find his car had been overturned by a black bear that was likely looking for food.
Bears that see humans as a food source are considered a potential threat, and BC Conservation often determines that they have no choice but to exterminate them.
Data from the provincial government shows that the months of May to October tend to see the highest numbers of black bears killed by conservation staff.
From 2017 to 2022, an average of 13 bears were killed every April. In May, the average rose to 69, or more than two per day.
The average is even higher in October, when the bears are consuming as many calories as they can in preparation for winter.
More than 500 black bears were killed by conservationists in BC last year, and Luci Cadman, chief executive officer of the North Coast Black Bear Association, says it’s in part the product of naysayers. message about ensuring the lure in the heart.
In January, Cadman told CTV News that she thinks people could change their behavior if they realized how many bears are killed each year.
“If people with garages store their trash and organics inside the garage until the morning of the collection day, we’ll see a significant reduction in the time the bears spend in the community,” Cadman said.
“We’ll always see them in the community and just give them space and make sure we’re doing everything we can to encourage them to stay.”
Tips for securing bear lures are available on the provincial government’s website.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Alyse Kotyk
