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Face to face with a bear

It seems I have crossed a dangerous line. When I first arrived in Squamish and British Columbia a year ago, I was terrified of bears. I had seen them only a few times in my life, always from a great distance or from the safety of a car.
bear

It seems I have crossed a dangerous line.

When I first arrived in Squamish and British Columbia a year ago, I was terrified of bears. I had seen them only a few times in my life, always from a great distance or from the safety of a car.

In my previous home in Prescott, Ont., we had many more animals than in Squamish, but the critters scurrying around were mostly small: squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits were common. You spotted the occasional deer or fox by the side of the highway, and you heard the coyotes at night in the countryside, but a bear was something worthy of a front-page news story. A bear sighting would have the community chattering nervously for weeks.

Here in Squamish, bears are just part of the community. When I remark that I just saw a black bear, people reply, “Oh, yeah, me too,” like I had just seen a mouse or something ordinary.

In recent months, bears have been seen in higher numbers in Squamish. This year so far, more than 300 bear sightings have been reported – that’s triple the number reported during the same period in 2014 and reflects only the official reports.

Experts say the surge in bear encounters is due to the low berry yield from our hot, dry summer. Bears are searching for food so they can soon hibernate. And with the berry bushes empty and the salmon run ending, they’re coming into town to root through our garbage cans.

I am still nervous around them, but not nervous enough, it seems. I enjoy running or walking at dusk, once my work is done and I’ve finished the dishes at home, and that seems to be when the bears come out. A few nights ago, I was running along the trail that circles the downtown, headed toward the beach, when I spotted a large black bear in my path.

Oh, he’s just like a giant squirrel, I thought. I’ll make a wide arc and run around him.

Maybe I was high from the music pumping from my iPod – or possibly from a man’s cloud of marijuana smoke that I had run through earlier on the path – but my thinking was daft. Bears are wild animals and can be dangerous.

I changed my mind when I advanced further and saw the bear’s eyes. He was watching me.

And I made probably my best decision of the year: I turned back and ran all the way home.