An Ontario woman is left with a hefty repair bill after a bear breaks in
September 1, 2024 8:14 PM Subscribe
Nuisance Bear would be a good Metafilter handle
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:13 PM on September 1 [6 favorites]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:13 PM on September 1 [6 favorites]
Kind of sad story.
Bear was removed from his area, walked all the way back, and found a cozy place to sleep in.
Why does the car's owner think it's revenge?
Also, if a bear has slept in my car multiple times I would consider locking it. Or wouldn't that help?
posted by Zumbador at 10:15 PM on September 1 [7 favorites]
Bear was removed from his area, walked all the way back, and found a cozy place to sleep in.
Why does the car's owner think it's revenge?
Also, if a bear has slept in my car multiple times I would consider locking it. Or wouldn't that help?
posted by Zumbador at 10:15 PM on September 1 [7 favorites]
From the article:
the same wild bear broke into her car last year and had to be removed by wildlife officers, before returning on foot from 200 kilometres away
I love how the reporter feels like they have to specify that the bear returned "on foot." Do they think we'd wonder if he'd jacked a car?
Thanks for sharing the article. Nature is amazing.
posted by rpfields at 10:29 PM on September 1 [20 favorites]
the same wild bear broke into her car last year and had to be removed by wildlife officers, before returning on foot from 200 kilometres away
I love how the reporter feels like they have to specify that the bear returned "on foot." Do they think we'd wonder if he'd jacked a car?
Thanks for sharing the article. Nature is amazing.
posted by rpfields at 10:29 PM on September 1 [20 favorites]
This happened to a friend of mine and her car was nearly totaled...all from the inside. The repair place reported a shockingly bad smell when they went in to fix the upholstery, and noted something like "don't worry, we cleaned out all the feces." But my friend didn't notice any fecal matter whatsoever when she went to clean her work bags and things out of the car, before it was towed away. So the theory is that a second bear broke in and pooped inside the car while it was in the impound lot, where it was kept over the weekend before it was towed to the body shop on Monday morning.
It's also possible of course that the pooper was a human, but that also seems outlandish to me. But what do I know!
posted by knotty knots at 10:41 PM on September 1 [1 favorite]
It's also possible of course that the pooper was a human, but that also seems outlandish to me. But what do I know!
posted by knotty knots at 10:41 PM on September 1 [1 favorite]
Could have been worse. At least the bear didn't let down a tyre and leaflet the windscreen.
posted by flabdablet at 11:26 PM on September 1
posted by flabdablet at 11:26 PM on September 1
Although it seems as though I have recycled this story many times, there probably are MeFites who've come along since 2015, when I first posted the story of my friend W's similar experience.
As for myself, I achieved something of a personal record this year. My neighbor Ray and I have spent years training the other neighbors to properly secure their trash because when they don't it usually gets hauled away from the street and into Ray's or my yard (where we then have to clean it up, usually after it has been thoroughly soaked by the rain.) This year we thought we were finally going to make it through an entire season without having to do a bear trash cleanup but yesterday broke the streak. Still, September 1 is a lot better than we've ever managed before!
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:11 AM on September 2 [9 favorites]
As for myself, I achieved something of a personal record this year. My neighbor Ray and I have spent years training the other neighbors to properly secure their trash because when they don't it usually gets hauled away from the street and into Ray's or my yard (where we then have to clean it up, usually after it has been thoroughly soaked by the rain.) This year we thought we were finally going to make it through an entire season without having to do a bear trash cleanup but yesterday broke the streak. Still, September 1 is a lot better than we've ever managed before!
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:11 AM on September 2 [9 favorites]
It's a little sad, because I presume a bear that returned after being relocated will be killed this time.
posted by tavella at 12:53 AM on September 2 [2 favorites]
posted by tavella at 12:53 AM on September 2 [2 favorites]
It's a little sad, because I presume a bear that returned after being relocated will be killed this time.
Sadly you’re probably right. I think there’s a window in which a black bear can be successfully relocated, and I’m wondering if the first relocation already had a low chance of success because either the bear was already too habituated or too old. I worked as a summer student at the MNR one year and forwarded lots of nuisance bear calls (lots of “do you have a secure place to put your garbage” and “do you have bird feeders”, etc.), and got to go out to a few calls with the bear tech. If they know they have an easy food source, they’ll keep coming back.
posted by eekernohan at 5:13 AM on September 2 [1 favorite]
Sadly you’re probably right. I think there’s a window in which a black bear can be successfully relocated, and I’m wondering if the first relocation already had a low chance of success because either the bear was already too habituated or too old. I worked as a summer student at the MNR one year and forwarded lots of nuisance bear calls (lots of “do you have a secure place to put your garbage” and “do you have bird feeders”, etc.), and got to go out to a few calls with the bear tech. If they know they have an easy food source, they’ll keep coming back.
posted by eekernohan at 5:13 AM on September 2 [1 favorite]
Might this be the one problem in the world that a car alarm has a chance of successfully solving?
posted by jordemort at 5:47 AM on September 2 [2 favorites]
posted by jordemort at 5:47 AM on September 2 [2 favorites]
Also, if a bear has slept in my car multiple times I would consider locking it. Or wouldn't that help?
Do a web search on “bear breaking car window” for specific examples, but it doesn’t seem to make a big difference, no.
posted by eviemath at 6:10 AM on September 2 [1 favorite]
Do a web search on “bear breaking car window” for specific examples, but it doesn’t seem to make a big difference, no.
posted by eviemath at 6:10 AM on September 2 [1 favorite]
fun fact I learned a few years ago: Modern vehicle upholstery is made of chemically materials that when it comes in contact with air it puts out a scent that to bears smells delicious. So when they rip up a cars interior they're not angry, they're just hungry.
posted by atom128 at 6:18 AM on September 2
posted by atom128 at 6:18 AM on September 2
It's also possible of course that the pooper was a human, but that also seems outlandish to me
Sorry if I digress, but this definitely rings a bell. I think it happened in the fifties. My great-uncle was a piece of work, who had an affair with a woman for years until some day she learnt that he was about to get married to another one (that's a common French story, exemplified in Un fil à la patte, de Georges Feydeau). On the day of the wedding, just out of the church, as they got into the car that was supposed to get them away to their honeymoon, they noticed a strange scent. The spurned lady had decided to express her feelings in a very explicit way, leaving something on the back seat that they couldn't ignore - and I guess, they would remember.
posted by nicolin at 6:57 AM on September 2
Sorry if I digress, but this definitely rings a bell. I think it happened in the fifties. My great-uncle was a piece of work, who had an affair with a woman for years until some day she learnt that he was about to get married to another one (that's a common French story, exemplified in Un fil à la patte, de Georges Feydeau). On the day of the wedding, just out of the church, as they got into the car that was supposed to get them away to their honeymoon, they noticed a strange scent. The spurned lady had decided to express her feelings in a very explicit way, leaving something on the back seat that they couldn't ignore - and I guess, they would remember.
posted by nicolin at 6:57 AM on September 2
Could have been worse. At least the bear didn't let down a tyre and leaflet the windscreen.
If a bear came running to me yelling if I wanted to learn about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I think that may be last time I step outside.
posted by alex_skazat at 2:33 PM on September 2 [2 favorites]
If a bear came running to me yelling if I wanted to learn about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I think that may be last time I step outside.
posted by alex_skazat at 2:33 PM on September 2 [2 favorites]
Wouldn't hold out much hope for the tape deck though.
Or the Creedence.
posted by East14thTaco at 3:25 PM on September 2 [1 favorite]
Or the Creedence.
posted by East14thTaco at 3:25 PM on September 2 [1 favorite]
Would you rather spend a night in the woods with a bear or Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
posted by stet at 10:00 PM on September 2
posted by stet at 10:00 PM on September 2
Oh, that one's easy. I'd rather Christ did it.
posted by flabdablet at 4:18 AM on September 3
posted by flabdablet at 4:18 AM on September 3
« Older The Pentium as a Navajo weaving | Linda Deutsch Dead at 80 Newer »
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:21 PM on September 1 [24 favorites]