--- title: Bear Found in Swimming Pool, Hot Tub in Vancouver British Columbia description: Bear found in swimming pool, hot tub in Vancouver British Columbia canonical: https://time.com/4002983/bear-swimming-pool-vancouver-british-columbia/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-19T14:24:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:01.915Z og:title: Bear Found in Swimming Pool, Hot Tub in Vancouver British Columbia og:description: Bear found in swimming pool, hot tub in Vancouver British Columbia og:url: https://time.com/4002983/bear-swimming-pool-vancouver-british-columbia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bear Found in Swimming Pool, Hot Tub in Vancouver British Columbia twitter:description: Bear found in swimming pool, hot tub in Vancouver British Columbia twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Man Finds Bear Chilling Out in His Swimming Pool in Vancouver > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1aa00666-fba9-4df9-ada5-618250b047da&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why You Shouldn't Pee In The Pool [Watch (HLS stream): Why You Shouldn't Pee In The Pool](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/H0urBwaO.m3u8) (2:53)  _Published 2014-06-17. Science explains why you should just hold it in when you go swimming._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 19, 2015 2:24 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 19, 2015 2:24 PM UTC A man found a bear sitting in the swimming pool in the backyard of his home in Vancouver, British Columbia, [CTV News reports.](http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/north-vancouver-homeowners-catch-bear-taking-a-dip-in-swimming-pool-1.2521761) It even scootched over into the hot tub. But it was not the first time that homeowner, Tony Diering, saw a bear on his property. About a month ago, one helped itself to some bird seed. No word on whether this visitor was a bear running away from [the man in a bear costume harassing bear](http://time.com/3997691/bear-costume-alaska/)s in Anchorage, Alaska (though probably too far a trek, of course.) In any event, it is just the latest example of a bear making headlines for wading into a stranger’s pool, from the one that [smelled up a pool](http://abc13.com/pets/video-bear-swims-in-pennsylvania-familys-swimming-pool/336637/) in Pennsylvania to one that played with children’s toys while [taking a dip in a pool ](http://www.abc57.com/story/29618678/bear-takes-a-dip-in-familys-pool)outside a Kentucky home. Then there’s the Los Angeles woman who [found out there was a bear in her pool](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-bear-beats-the-heat-in-california-swimming-pool/) after hearing helicopters and loud speakers tell residents to stay in their homes. ## Transcript The Summer weather is here and the swimming pools are open. That means a chance to cool off and have fun. It also means a chance to do something that most people wont admit to, but many have certainly done, peeing in the pool. And while it might be a time saver new research in the ACS Journal Environmental Science and Technology. Shows that the reaction between uric acid, a component of urine, and chlorine, isn't pretty. Researching ways to keep the environment safe? That's breakthrough science. [ MUSIC ] Professor Ernest Blatchley at Purdue University has been studying swimming pool chemistry for nearly a decade. He teamed up with Professor Jing Li at China Agricultural University, to study two main byproducts of the reaction between uric acid and chlorine. Cyanogen chloride, and trichloramine. These compounds form for a number of reasons, but Blatchley and Li's article highlights the main culprit, uric acid. And where does that come from? Urich acid is almost entirely attributable to human urine in a swimming pool. That's right, peeing in the pool. This was the first kind of direct link between urinating in swimming pools and generating these hazardous disinfection byproducts. So why should swimmers care about this chemical reaction? Cyanogen chloride is a, its a very toxic chemical. Its actually been used as a chemical warfare agent. Exposure to trichloramine does cause irritation of the respiratory system, and it causes irritation of skin tissues in your eyes as well. To be clear, there's not enough enough urine or chlorine in any pool to produce chemical warfare levels of these toxic substances. But people can get sick from breathing in this dangerous combination. There are reported instances where people have become ill. With symptoms that are consistent with poisoning by either cyanogen or trichloramine. Testing for these compounds requires advanced equipment. So there's not much data on pee in the pool related poisonings. But Blatchley and Li do know that the action is swift. Uric acid is very active compound. It will react with the chlorine immediately after they mixed up. And it's common. The average swimmer leaves behind 30 to 80 milliliters of urine in the pool. That's about two ounces per swimmer. Just to be clear, not every swimmer urinates in the pool, but on average that's about how much they leave behind. Chlorine also isn't likely to be taken out of pools anytime soon. Chlorine is really the most popular [ INAUDIBLE ] around the world. So is it safe to swim this summer? THis doesn't keep me from getting in the pool. Although I'm a little more cautious about it than I used to be. And a little more courteous. I have to confess, I'm a swimmer. I have peed in the pool. I don't anymore. Blatchley and Li hope their research will get people to think twice before they go in the water. 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