Bear on dumpster chased off by teacher blasting a trombone, Canada video shows
A music teacher scared off a bear sitting on top of a school’s dumpster by blasting his trombone, a video shows.
Tristan Clausen has been a teacher at St. John’s Academy in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada, for two years. He has not seen a bear on campus until the May 27 encounter, he told McClatchy News.
The bear wasn’t a surprise to faculty though, he said.
It had been lingering around the school for a few days — long enough to divert students to different building entrances to avoid the animal.
Then a student spotted the bear after forgetting to use another door.
“She kind of stopped dead in her tracks with one foot out the door and retreated back inside,” Clausen said.
A video of the bear shows it perched on top of a secured and “bear proof” dumpster outside the school.
“It’s a real life bear,” one student in the video is heard saying.
A teacher then began banging on a door to frighten the bear, but that didn’t work.
That’s when Clausen went to his desk and grabbed the “biggest” and “loudest” thing he had — a trombone.
He stood outside the classroom about 50 feet away from the bear and blew into the instrument for about 10 to 15 seconds — enough time for the bear to dash off.
Clausen’s student got a “good laugh” out of the bear encounter, too.
Shawnigan Lake is a village in a rural part of British Columbia, so it’s not uncommon to see bears, Clausen said.
St. John’s Academy teaches students in grades 4-12.
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Bear on dumpster chased off by teacher blasting a trombone, Canada video shows."
