Bear volunteer concerned about unsecured trash

If Yogi is smarter than the average bear, consider the bears at the Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone to be regular Einsteins.

Whitefish resident Bill Lavelle, of the Living with Wildlife Foundation, has seen first hand the resourcefulness and skills a bear will display when attempting to get into a locked garbage can. Lavelle helps test a variety of bear-resistant containers at the Discovery Center and is working with the Whitefish Police Department this fall as a bear education outreach volunteer.

“Bears are incredibly smart,” Lavelle said. “Typically, they tip a container on its side and do CPR compressions on it. They are looking for a weak spot, usually the hinges, and they work that area. It’s amazing how dexterous they are and how quickly they learn.”

Given enough time in the controlled environment of the Discovery Center “the bear will get into the container,” Lavelle said. “There are no bear-proof containers, only bear-resistant.”

One of the bears at the center, Kobuk, was able to open a metal container used in National Parks.

“I worry at times that Kobuk is smart enough to write a note and pass it outside to his wild friends,” Lavelle joked.

Outside the confines of the center, however, a standard bear-resistant container will almost always keep a bear from getting a food reward.

“Bears approach a bear-resistant container, tip it over, play with it and move on,” Lavelle said. “They’re looking for quick and fast food rewards — an unsecured container.”

Lavelle is concerned about the number of unsecured garbage containers around Whitefish. He says using approved containers will go a long way to reduce possible bear-human conflicts.

“My biggest concern in the Whitefish area is that someone is going to get hurt,” he said. “Let’s say you ask your child to take out the garbage and there is a bear on top of the container — that’s really bad. Putting out unsecured containers is like inviting a bear to your doorstep.”

As a maintenance worker at Ptarmigan Village on Big Mountain for nearly 15 years, Lavelle has had a fair share of bear encounters and he knows how well bear-resistant containers work.

“In 1998 Ptarmigan didn’t have bear-resistant Dumpsters,” he recalled. “They all had plastic lids and bears would get on top of them, bounce and get a food reward immediately.”

Lavelle was working nights then and would spend three hours each shift collecting garbage spread by the bears. Fed up with the routine, he contacted North Valley Refuse and ordered bear-resistant Dumpsters.

“Bear visitations immediately dropped,” he said “It’s gotten to the point now that they are just passing though the Ptarmigan area.”

He’d like to see residents in the city take the same precautions.

“Bears can show up anywhere in Northwest Montana,” he said. “Just because you live in town doesn’t mean you can’t have a bear visitor.”

He notes that anyone can get a bear-resistant container by calling Whitefish’s Public Works department at 863-2456.

Fruit is also a major attractant and should be picked frequently. Unwanted fruit, Lavelle notes, will be accepted at North Valley Food Bank.

As a volunteer with the police department, Lavelle will be out talking with people when he sees issues.

“Containers that are put out too early, unpicked fruit, or if I hear of any situations,” he said. “I’m in contact with North Valley Refuse and they are acting as my eyes out there.”

Lavelle encourages residents with bear questions to contact him at 249-7241 or by email at bearaware@bresnan.net.