We stumbled across an amusing story this week about a Vancouver homeowner who realized one morning that his swimming pool was unsafe – but not for the reasons you might think.
To the man’s surprise, there was a bear lounging in his pool.
A video he posted on YouTube shows the bear taking a relaxing dip outside the man’s home in British Columbia. But the “fun” didn’t stop there. After cooling off in the pool, the bear proceeded to climb into the attached hot tub for an extra dose of leisure.
At Crystal Pools, we always stress the importance of pool safety – but it’s not every day we hear about bears taking a plunge in our own backyards!
The first question that came to mind when we began watching the video was, “Where’s the fence?” After all, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (and most municipalities) require that swimming pools be surrounded by a fence no less than 48 inches tall. This is extremely important for preventing the risk of child drownings – and frankly, it should keep the bears out too.
As it turns out, the Vancouver homeowner did have a fence installed – but the bear knocked it over in his pursuit for a little summertime splash. Still, if a small bear could knock it over so easily, chances are a child (or a group of teens) could do the same. Also, apparently this wasn’t the first time a bear had broken in. The man reported that another bear (or possibly the same one) had done the same thing a month ago and was found eating from a bird feeder on the property. But if this happened before, then shouldn’t more have been done to make sure the fence was secured?
Regardless, it’s still a great video – so be sure to check it out, above.
And when you’re done, go check out your own fence to make sure it’s still strong and sturdy enough to keep the bears (and children) out of your pool area.
Happy swimming!