A North Burnaby resident is concerned about unsecured organic bins luring bears to her Forest Grove neighbourhood.
Earlier this month, Barb McMahon caught an opportunistic ursine picking through a bin in her townhome complex at Birch Grove Place in the broad light of day.
“I took these photos in the safety of my car, witnessing the bear tip over the bin, open the lid and pull out the contents,” McMahon told the NOW. “Even after honking and yelling at it, the bear didn’t budge until a man came out to yell and wave his arms in the air at it.”
McMahon said residents have called Nacel Properties, which manages the complex, but the unsecured bins remain.
“These bins wouldn’t exist in an area on the North Shore or Whistler where bears have been sighted, so why are they in our area where numerous bear sightings have occurred?” McMahon said.
Bears attracted to the neighbourhood's unsecured organic bins have caused concern at nearby Forest Grove Elementary as well.
On Friday, the school sent out a notice to parents, saying school staff, residents and city engineers had spent the lunch hour watching a young bear rummage through the bins in neighbouring housing complexes.
"We followed the bear west as he went from one complex to the next checking out the food waste bins and open garages," wrote principal Al Post. "He then darted into the woods, heading south down the mountain. I suspect he will want to return at some point, heading back up the mountain."
Post, who said conservation officers had been notified, urged as many parents as possible to come to the school to walk their children home.
@CorNaylor
