Two shots rang out in Blueridge early on a Tuesday morning last month.
Some startled residents took to social media to speculate what the bangs were about.
Explosions. Gunfire. Firecrackers. A homemade bomb.
A Facebook poster even reported an arrest had been made.
There was definitely a police presence at the home where the blasts came from, but no one was taken away in a squad car. In the end, it turned out a Hyannis Drive man had set off bear bangers to haze a bear out of his yard around 7 a.m., according to Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Don’t we all feel sheepish.
The shots signalled the return of the bruins to Blueridge, Seymour and Deep Cove backyards and our ongoing cohabitation with large wildlife. Last year, out of the seven North Shore bears killed, four were found in Blueridge.
It’s expected a sow and her two cubs, which are now habituated to humans, will return to Blueridge this summer, according to the North Shore Black Bear Society.
Let’s not leave food out for them.
Let’s manage our garbage and composts better.
Let’s clean our barbecues immediately after a salmon dinner.
And that bird feeder in your yard? It’s going to attract something much more humongous than a hummingbird.
The conservation officer service received 627 bear reports by September on the North Shore last year.
You can bet east of Seymour, we’ll have our fair share of bear sightings this summer.
Let’s get less bang for our buck.
