The creatures at the BC Wildlife Park's Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre are recovering from a variety of injuries and maladies, but erectile dysfunction is not one of them.
That's why park staff found it amusing when someone put a herbal remedy for ED in their food donation bin.
A bear testing the strength of a bear-proof bin. Photo: Eric Thompson
"It definitely caught our eye. Some of the things we've had in there have been quite hilarious, really," says animal health supervisor Tracy Reynolds. "It was a herbal variation of Viagra, I think. They must have been trying to get rid of it, I don't know."
Because their food donation bin is in the parking lot and accessible all hours of the day, staff often find odd donations for the animals, like microwavable popcorn or a vintage Christmas cake. So while that's not the reason they're removing the donation bin, it's an added bonus they won't have to sort through seasonal treats and sex pills to get food for their critters.
BC Wildlife Park. Photo: Brendan Kergin
"Part of it is we just get overrun with stuff. We do appreciate some things, but people will bring us fruit that has fallen from their trees that we just can't use. So it ends up going straight into our compost and it's a lot of work for us to pick all that up out of the parking lot," Reynolds tells KamloopsMatters.
"The other thing is during that time of year, there's a lot of bears and other animals that are attracted. We talk about being bear aware but then we have this big donation bin in the middle of our parking lot that people drop off any time of the day. So we want to limit when people can drop off so it's not sitting out there at all. And then we can really be sure that it's stuff that we want."
Reynolds says the kind of things they would like to receive more of are fruits (especially berries) and game meats. But even then, there are restrictions on what they can take. They can't take wormy fruits and meat can't be frozen for more than a few years.
"Honestly, if it's not something you would eat, we won't feed it to our animals," she says. "We have pretty strict, maybe even more strict rules for feeding our animals than feeding ourselves. We'll eat way worse stuff."
To donate food now, people need to call the Animal Care department at 250-573-3242 ext. 232 and leave a message to make an appointment for a drop off time.
The bin should be gone by the end of this week, and staff are hoping to get a "No Dumping" sign in case people think its removal was just temporary. (So if you're looking to dispose of your medication, you'll need to find a new place.)
And if you're curious to see how you can donate to help the park, click HERE.
