Well, not literally. More accurately, there appears to have been a bear in our shed!
One of our out buildings is a large, barn-shaped shed. We use it to store paddles, life jackets, garden tools, kids toys and games, strollers, ropes, light fixtures and various other odds and ends. And of course, garbage pails.
Each Sunday, before heading home, we place the weekend’s garbage in the plastic garbage pails. Part of our routine is a dump run each Saturday the following weekend.
This Friday, after arriving at around 8:30 p.m., I went to put something into the shed. Upon opening the door I was shocked to see that the garbage pails were on their sides, one was partly crushed, garbage was strewn about and many other items in the shed were out of place.
This is what the shed normally looks like:
It was obvious that a large animal had done this. All signs pointed to one or more bears. Specifically, a dog food can had teeth punctures, the edges of one of the garbage pail lids was chewed and the way things were knocked about could only have been done by a large animal. We quickly ruled out coyotes and thought it was unlikely that a cougar had done it. We don’t think a feline would have made such large sweeping actions to move things like the large oak rocking chair, a very heavy case containing a bocce ball set or the strollers that were lying on the floor.
So, we’re pretty sure we had a bear visit our property this past week. This is the season when they are coming out of hibernation. My understanding is, they’re pretty hungry at this stage. We also know there were elk ribs in the garbage from a delicious recipe my wife made. That was likely enough to entice a bear to search for the origin of that scent… and just maybe get a little angry when there was next to nothing left to satisfy his hunger!
The shed door has not shut completely since we got the place… and it was never much of a concern. The door stayed shut and that seemed to be good enough! Before leaving tonight I adjusted the door jamb so it now shuts properly. So unless the bear has opposable thumbs, he or she is not likely to get in.
See this page for more about living in harmony with wildlife at your rustic or country home.
