Video: When You Evict Your Dumpster Bear
Daniel Xu 06.29.16
Bears are notorious for dumpster diving, and in this case, the term is quite literal. This video was taken in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, when a man discovered a bear hiding out in a dumpster behind a store. Amusingly, the man recording the encounter sounds like he’s done this a few times, and comes off as merely annoyed when he prompts the bear to exit the dumpster and leave. Begrudgingly, the bear climbs out and waddles off.
While it may be funny, officials stress that these encounters should be best avoided by bear-proofing trash containers. Allowing bears to come and steal food out of a dumpster, even briefly, can be dangerous.
“Once a bear loses its fear of humans, it’s not likely to run off as quickly as it did,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Mike Porras told KDVR. “And the next person that comes along may face a situation that puts their human health and safety at jeopardy.”
Wildlife officers aggressively haze bears to deter them from returning to residential areas. Porras even mentioned that sometimes officers will taser the animal—which is nonlethal—to condition it from stealing food.
Additionally, when confronting a bear on your own, always try to leave it as much of an escape path as possible. Otherwise the animal will either try to hide, or fight. As you can see in this video, it was lucky that the dumpster was positioned close enough to the walls for the bear to climb up, or otherwise it would have to leave in the direction of the cameraman.
