A Burnaby NOW reader had surprisingly close encounter with a black bear last weekend.
Thomas Tricarico lives on the north side of Burnaby Mountain on Barnet Road. Black bears in his neighbourhood are not uncommon, he said, but standing face-to-face with a rearing mother bear was an experience he says he won't soon forget.
"It was a little unusual this time," he said with a laugh.
Sitting on his backyard patio enjoying his morning coffee, Tricarico saw out of the corner of his eye what he at first thought was his neighbour's cat go by the hedge, but realized was a little too big to be a domestic feline.
Curious, Tricarico walked up to the back lane behind his property and discovered a black bear rummaging through his trash cans. A perfect opportunity for a photo, he ran back inside to grab his camera, and quickly returned to snap the shot, but then found not just one bear, but two.
"I turned around, and there is momma bear standing behind me," he said. "...Seriously, she had to be like five feet... and we just looked at each other. I just said, 'That's OK, it's alright,' and tried to back away slowly."
The bear followed him slowly to the entrance to his stairs, where Tricarico had time to get another photo, before she became too distracted by the smorgasbord of garbage cans lining the lane, and followed her cub.
Eventually, both bears moved on back into the woods, leaving Tricarico with a few photos as proof of his latest wildlife encounter in his own backyard.
Last summer, Burnaby conservation officer David Cox told the NOW he'd received several calls of several black bear sightings in Burnaby, but that the bears were not causing any trouble.
He said bear sightings around Burnaby Mountain are an annual occurrence, and people should be sure to keep dogs on leashes while hiking or walking on the mountain, and remember to keep garbage cans and bins securely stored so bears cannot access them.
www.twitter.com/BurnabyNOW_news
