A Port Coquitlam man says he was greeted by a strange sight on Monday night: two adolescent black bears play-fighting right beside his driveway.
Austen Cashion says he sees solitary black bears roughly four times a week and pairs of black bears a few times a year, but he's never before witnessed a pair playing like this.
"Suddenly they got up on their hind legs and it looks like they're throwing punches at each other," he told CTV News Vancouver. "I've worked up north and stuff and never seen that before. And to see that in my own backyard is unreal."
Cashion says he spotted the pair near his home on Burns Road at 9 p.m.
The pair of bears initially spent their time grazing in the field near his house, before they got the urge to play.
The roughhousing even drew a crowd.
"I'd say five cars probably suddenly stopped in the middle of the road to see them, I even had a few try to pull into my driveway," he said.
The entire encounter lasted roughly 20 minutes before the bears decided they were done, and continued on their way.
He says bears frequently pass by his house on their way to and from Burke Mountain.
Cashion hopes the videos are also a good reminder for people to slow down on the road, as animals can appear at any time.
Although Cashion may see a lot of bears throughout his week, he says this most recent encounter will stick with him.
"I'm no bear expert but I've been observing bears here for 10 years and never seen anything like this before."
