Bear vs. bin: Video shows B.C. bear struggling to get into secured garbage

Social media video showing a black bear struggling to break into a Squamish, B.C., garbage bin is highlighting the importance of properly securing attractants – especially at this time of year.

Jess Findlay shared the video to Instagram this week, along with a message about keeping both bears and people in bear-adjacent communities safe ahead of hibernation season.

"A lot of the bears that discover these food sources within inhabited areas end up being destroyed by conservation officers," said Findlay, a wildlife photographer and ecological consultant.

"Not ideal, obviously – nor is it ideal to have these bears wandering around in areas where they can potentially get into conflicts with humans."

His video, which was labelled "Bear vs. Bear-Proof Garbage Bins," begins with the animal sniffing around a home in the Sea to Sky community last Sunday.

The bear tips over a garbage bin and proceeds to try getting inside by biting and tugging on the handles. Eventually, the animal tosses the bin aside and leaves, seemingly aware that the bear-proof locks were doing their job.

"He seems frustrated – though I don't know how much of that is me anthropomorphizing," Findlay said with a laugh.

He noted the bear has an ear tag, indicating the animal might have been on conservation officers' radar due to feasting on human garbage previously.

Findlay suggested there could be more bears wandering into neighbourhoods this fall, given the way B.C.'s drought has left many rivers and creeks depleted, decreasing the supply of available salmon.

"Bears are in a state right now called hyperphagia, where they just need to pack on the calories and build up their fat reserves," he said. "The best source of that fat tends to be salmon in these coastal areas. Being tenacious in their search for food, they're just going to go and look elsewhere."

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service couldn't confirm whether the salmon availability is having a significant impact this year, noting that natural food sources fluctuate year to year depending on the weather and other factors.

Officials did encourage people to be careful with attractants ahead of hibernation season, however.

More information on how to eliminate attractants and reduce the risk of human-bear conflicts can be found on the B.C. government's website.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jess Findlay (@jessfindlay)