It was bag of candy that attracted a hungry bear into a North Vancouver home Wednesday, surprising a nanny, who managed to escape from the house before conservation officers arrived at the scene.
The 80-pound yearling was later destroyed by conservation officials, who are being kept busy this summer dealing with a rash of encounters between B.C.'s bear population and residents of the Lower Mainland.
The latest encounter occurred Wednesday afternoon in North Vancouver's Mount Seymour area, when a woman, employed as a nanny, sensed that she wasn't alone, and ran out to get help from roofers who were working nearby.
"She said there was something big in the house, but didn't know what it was,'' said Derek Renaud, a roofer, who spoke to CTV.
Conservation officer Jack Trudgian said it was candy in the woman's open purse that attracted the bear, which was later found and destroyed.
Experts attribute the rash of bear encounters to the long winter season, which reduced the amount of berries available to the bear population.
As a result, the public is being warned to keep doors and windows shut, even on hot days.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger.
