Tim Sader of Haven Properties is used to dealing with buildings, not bears, so it came as a surprise to him that bruins will do just about anything to get food.
Now, after a bear climbed a fence to get to the bins behind Caffe Divano in Port Moody's Klahanie development, he's a little more educated — and the trash enclosure is more secure.
"We've sort of fortified the roof so they shouldn't get in," said Sader, who also said special locks will be put on the trash bins and recycling carts by the end of the week.
The changes to clean up the waste collection area behind a small commercial building were made last week after a bear got in and made a mess, raising concerns among area residents and bringing police and conservation officers to the area.
A bear trap was even left but it never caught any bears.
Sgt. Todd Hunter of the BC Conservation Officer service said it's likely the bear that broke into the trash there moved on to look for other food sources and he thinks the lesson is a good one for businesses that deal with waste.
In fact, Hunter said he would like to see more commercial properties lock up their waste and recycling bins so bears can't get into them.
"The businesses have got to buck up. Commercial food waste has to be secured appropriately," Hunter said, adding he's pleased Haven Properties took the initiative as as soon as it became apparent there was a problem.
"It's exactly what we want to see: preventing an encounter before there's a problem. I want to challenge all of our businesses to get on board and do something like this."
Judy Taylor-Atkinson, a Klahanie resident, is also pleased Haven Properties has stepped up to secure trash so bears aren't attracted to the area. She said residents take bear issues seriously, even patrolling the area on trash pick-up day to make sure nobody's leaving their garbage out overnight and posting problems on Facebook.
With two wildlife corridors near the development, Klahanie could be a virtual banquet for bears if people aren't careful.
"We were upset this was happening in our community," Taylor-Atkinson said. "We have a protective attitude toward the bears and we want to keep the community safe."
