Trail and Greater District RCMP dealt with incidents of two bears getting inside separate vehicles over the weekend.
The first took place overnight on Friday, May 7th, RCMP got a call from a 60-year-old Trail woman about her vehicle being damaged in the 2000 block of Topping Street. Officers say there were claw marks on the side of the vehicle, a broken window that allowed the bear to get in and destroy the headrest. The reason for getting in the vehicle, according to police, was the smell of garbage coming from inside.
Another report of a bear in a vehicle took place on Saturday, May 8th in Rossland. At around 3:26 a.m. Trail RCMP received a report of a bear trapped inside a vehicle in the 2000 block of Columbia Avenue. RCMP said the bear had already left the vehicle once they arrived, thanks to the 28-year-old Rossland man tying an extension cord to his door handle and opening the door to let out the bear. Officers are not sure why the bear was in there as they could not find any identifiable attractants coming out of the car and the BC Conservation Officer Service was made aware of the incident.
“Trail RCMP remind the public to lock their vehicles and refrain from storing bear attractants like food and garbage inside their vehicles overnight,” said officers. “Trail RCMP also recommends removing all attractants from the outside of business and residential properties to help reduce and eliminate manmade wildlife conflict zones.”
If you come across any incidents with bears or any other wildlife you can contact Trail and Greater District RCMP at 250-364-2566 or the BC Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.