Imagine this: your car alarm goes off in the middle of the night.
Maybe you fumble around for your keys. You’re half asleep, annoyed, and muttering about new alarm systems. Or maybe you shoot out of bed, mind racing, trying to decide if you should bring a baseball bat outside.
Whatever your reaction, nothing could prepare you for the scenario one Tofino resident went through last weekend.
At 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, Stephanie Hannay headed out to see what had set off her car alarm. And she got the shock of her life.
“I opened the driver-side door and this head pops out in the back seat and it’s just a bear. I couldn’t believe it,” she told Vancouver Is Awesome.
Like most normal people, she freaked out. Immediately.
“I wasn’t actually sure if that was what I had seen but I freaked out and closed the door immediately and I began screaming. Pacing back and forth. I wasn’t sure what to do.”
Once she calmed down, she called the Conservation Officer Service. They decided that, because it was 2 in the morning, a police officer would be most appropriate.
“He’s like: ‘What seems to be the problem?’ And I am like: ‘There’s a bear in my car,” said Hannay.
The officer had a quick fix for the problem. He opened the back hatch and let the bear wander off.
But that bear was not a fan of being trapped in a car. He made that very clear by tearing up the entire inside of Hannay’s vehicle.
The bear broke all the panelling in the doors and took a massive steamy shit on her backseats.
“It smells so bad in the car. It is gross. It is absolutely disgusting,” said Hannay.
While the bear’s quick exit from the car was simple, keeping the bear away long-term will be very complicated.
Sgt. Stuart Bates is a Central Island Zone conservation officer. “Once a bear has learned to associate people and food and no longer fears them, that bear is not going to be relocated,” he told Vancouver is Awesome. “The chances of it attacking or returning or going to another community are very high.”
This particular bear is believed to have damaged 12 vehicles in the last 6 weeks.
“We do have a bear that about six weeks ago got into a car and got some food and has since then learned to test every car it comes across. They’re really hard on cars—break open door handles, windows,” Bates said.
Hannay has called a couple of dealerships to get her car fixed. One dealership in Port Alberni told her they’ve gotten lots of calls over the last few weeks from folks with the same problem.
The one thing Hannay could have changed to keep her vehicle safe was to lock her car doors.
So if you’re in Tofino (or anywhere in BC, really) and you don’t want shit in your car, be bear aware.
Don’t leave food in your car (gross), and lock your doors.
Also, keep your garbage in your garage, and if you see a bear, PLEASE don’t try to film yourself feeding it.
You’ll be doing us all a favour by keeping yourself and our wildlife alive. And you won’t become our next headline.
