Bear Traps

We were passing by a government building and noticed a sign that read Government Information Center. Those of you who know me, KNOW I'd be looking for bear and moose up here at the crack of dawn and at dusk. Well, this was a golden opportunity to get the real "scoop" on the bear population. The office rang up and sent down the lady who directs and actually does the trapping and relocating of problematic bear. These are the actual traps which are baited and once trapped, they relocate the bear to less populated areas. There is an overabundance of bear this year she said, due to a heavier than normal mosquito population this year, which are driving the bear down into more populated areas. Plus they love bird feeders and of course, people's garbage and once they find the treasured items, they tend to return until the area is void of those items and will continue to return for days in hopes of finding the food again. Bear also return to the areas they are transported from, especially the females. This young woman was probably about 28, 100 pounds soaking wet, and picturing her out there with these huge angry animals was hard to grasp. Humm, wonder why she wouldn't let me put Ron in the cage for a picture? Any guesses? When we went back there to see the traps, Gilligan went nuts. The smell of bear was so powerful and not just the excrement (which actually was still in the last cage used). I tried to convince her to let me go with her to check on some of the traps, but most of us know when the word "government" is involved, rarely are exceptions made and I am certainly NOT authorized personnel! Well, even if we don't SEE bear in Canada while we're here, we certainly SMELT bear in Canada. Now, how many people can say that!!