'It's a people problem': Unsecured garbage bins continue to attract bears on Bear Mountain
Shauna Owens-Krahn lives on Bear Mountain in Langford. Four times a day she takes her dogs for walks through the trails near her home and carries bear spray, just in case.
“I just learned that there was a bear in the neighbourhood two weeks ago,” said Owens-Krahn.
In fact it’s three bears, a mother bear and her two cubs. They were first spotted in the area in October, captured on many home surveillance systems and seen getting into people’s garbage.
It appears Bear Mountain has a bear problem.
“Unfortunately it’s not a bear problem, it’s a people problem,” said Mollie Cameron, president of Wild Wise.
Wild Wise, along with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, has been working tirelessly in the attempt to persuade residents to better secure their trash on Bear Mountain with little success.
“There’s really no excuse for the amount of garbage bins that are being left outside on a constant basis,” said Cameron.
She says bears are animals of opportunity and can smell garbage from a kilometre away. Cameron fears if residents don’t start to properly store their trash, it will lead to those three bears being destroyed.
“If these bears do lose their lives, more bears are just going to come in,” said Cameron.
Last year, a neighbourhood in View Royal dealt with a similar situation caused by a mother bear and her three cubs that had become habituated to household garbage.
“I remember not being able to go to school that day because I was just in such a state of mourning,” said Alaina Miller, a View Royal resident back in March.
The mother bear was ultimately destroyed by conservation officers. The three cubs, all under one year of age, were placed at a recovery centre.
The town of View Royal later approved a pilot project providing access to bear-proof bins to residents in bear prone areas.
Back on Bear Mountain those cubs won’t be so lucky.
“Unfortunately those bears are over a year old so they wouldn’t be eligible to go to rehab,” said Cameron.
The City of Langford doesn’t provide garbage services as a utility but residents do have options when it comes to bear-proof bins.
“To outright purchase a bear proof bin is $250, it’s under $5 a month to rent one from GFL,” said Cameron.
On Bear Mountain, that small investment could mean sparing the lives of those three bears.
“The education is, you just don’t leave garbage out,” said Owens-Krahn.
“Coexistence is a really complex issue but it has a lot of really simple solutions,” said Cameron.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Nicki Minaj's England concert postponed after rapper was detained by Dutch authorities over pot
Nicki Minaj's concert in Manchester scheduled for Saturday night was postponed after police in the Netherlands discovered marijuana in her bags as she was preparing to leave the country.
1 dead, 3 in hospital after flying wheel crashes into bus windshield on QEW
A man is dead, and three others are in hospital after a flying wheel crashed into a coach bus on the QEW in St. Catharines.
How to keep insects out of your house, according to an entomologist and other experts
Now that temperatures have warmed up even more this spring, you may be anxious at the thought of bugs invading your home or you may already be battling the pests. Here are expert tips on how to keep them away.