B.C. residents are once again reminded that bears are out and about in many communities.
On Tuesday, a hungry bear in Port Moody tore through one home’s closed wooden garage door to get to the trash can stored inside.
“I heard some wood crunching,” neighbour Jim Malamas told Global News.
“I thought, well, who the heck’s doing woodwork or chopping wood this time of night? So I look out the window and I see there’s some movement over here. And then the house is dark. So I come down my patio, sure as heck it’s a bear crunching away.”
Malamas said he texted the homeowner who slept through the disturbance.
“It’s a common occurrence here on this street. We have bears all the time,” he added.
WildsafeBC said the incident is a timely reminder for residents that they are living in bear country and stressed the importance of following all city bylaws and bear-aware guidelines.
“Prevention is the key to this entire situation,” Gabriela De Romeri from WildsafeBC said.
“If we were able to get to that bear when (it) was much smaller, there’s a chance that this bear would have never actually developed such a behaviour to the point where it feels comfortable enough breaking into something as large as a home.”
The homeowner didn’t want to go on camera but says she feels violated by what happened, adding it was just regular garbage being stored in the garage, and now all this damage is going to cost $4,500.
Port Moody bylaws state that garbage can lids must be securely closed and locked until they are put out for collection, even when they are stored inside a garage or shed.
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