A trap has been set, but Angela Kendell is hoping the black bear her family saw in their Pasadena backyard Monday evening is long gone.
At around 6 p.m. her 10-year-old daughter Annabella was looking out a window and called out saying there was a black animal running through their Foote Street backyard.
Kendell went to the window and spotted the bear, which appeared to be young.
Her eight-year-old daughter Hailey had only left the house about three minutes before to head to a friend’s house. So Kendell’s first instinct was to run to the front door to find her.
Hailey was across the street, just a couple of doors down, and Kendell quickly got her back to their own home.
She then called her neighbour to make sure her daughter didn’t come out and contacted some other friends on the street.
“There’s a lot of young families on the street with kids and lots of time they’re out playing in the yards and the street.”
“I had to make it known to them first.”
Then she called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who contacted wildlife authorities with the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources.
The department confirmed that conservation officers responded and set up a live trap in the area.
Kendell figures the young bear was in the yard for about three minutes before it went off into the woods in the direction of the Pasadena Ski and Nature Park.
The area is popular with people and families who hike and walk their dogs on the trails.
Kendell’s home is the last one on the street and two years ago another bear wandered into their backyard. A trap was set up then, but that bear was never caught.
So while they try to keep garbage in bins and do other things to keep safe she knows it’s possible for bears to come out.
“We’re basically in their habitat, really. The streets are building up and we’re getting up into the woods.”
Still this experience has left her feeling uneasy about going out and when she does she’s watching in every direction.
With the bear being young she’s wondering if there is also a protective mother bear around.
But she’s being careful with how she handles her concern with her daughters.
“There’s kind of a fine line between making them paranoid and afraid to go out and being safe.”
The trap has been set up just across the street from her house and conservation officers are monitoring it.
