When you live in bear country you must take great care in how you handle your trash. There is one fact that you must accept and respect, bears are smart. They are problem solvers. The worse part is when their brains fail them, they are overflowing with brawn.
I actually have proof of brainy bears. I tie I rope on a tree near the feeder. It doesn’t support anything it is just there to hook the feeder on when I fill it. The bears untie it. They don’t chew it, they don’t pull it, they untie it. Just for fun I tried using different knots, they got them all. Like I said bears are smart, boy scout smart.
To keep us all safe we keep our trash can indoors with a very effective odor suppressant. I used to be able to put it out for collection early, as one of the trash haulers showed me an effective strap and how to place it on the can. Then one day I walked down our very long driveway to collect the empty can and it was gone. I looked around and it was nowhere to be found.
I called the hauling company, they said it wasn’t out there for collection. I had to go in search. I found it nearly 100 yards into the woods, strap still on, can still full but well perforated from bear teeth. Needless to say, I now only move the can out just before the haulers come.
The other day as I dragged the can down the driveway in the early hours, I thought about how smart bears are. The sun was not quite up. There was a significant fog. The can was so noisy as it bounced and banged on the gravel driveway. I thought about how bears all know when it’s trash day. They all know what trash cans look like. I pondered the idea they might know what it sounds like when you drag one down the driveway.
In the dark and the fog, I wondered if maybe it sounded like a dinner bell. It was just banging and rattling to me but maybe to them it sounded more like, ‘Come and get it, old slow moving fat lady, come and get it.’
May none of your bears be boy scout smart.
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