Doorbell camera captures tense bear showdown at B.C. family's front door

There were some tense moments for a B.C. family this week after their dog came face-to-face with a protective mama bear right outside their front door.

The incident unfolded at the Vance family's home in Port Coquitlam after dark on Wednesday, while the parents were out and their son and daughter were home alone.

Video captured on the family's doorbell camera shows three black bears on the lawn, sifting through some kind of plastic bag, when their son opened the door to take their dog for a walk.

The dog quickly lunges forward, barking to scare the much larger animals away – before the sow charges at them and chases them inside.

"I heard my brother yelling," recalled Lauren Vance. "Like something bad, bad, bad had happened."

The siblings made sure the dog was safe, then Lauren locked herself on the patio and her brother locked himself in his bedroom.

"So there are three bears outside our front door, and the door is open," Lauren said. "I don't know if there's a bear inside my house."

She eventually had to run inside to grab her phone to call their parents, who checked the doorbell camera on their way home to see if the bears were still around.

Their dad, Bryan Vance, said the family is used to seeing bears in the neighbourhood, as they live near Burke Mountain – but that these ones seemed particularly unfazed by humans.

He spotted them in his truck while driving home, but had trouble scaring them off.

"I'm in my truck honking my horn and it was just staring at me, not running away," he said.

Earlier this week, video of another bear encounter in neighbouring Coquitlam went viral online – showing the animal "bluff charging" at resident Alex Gold after wandering into his garage. 

Gold told CTV News he had been unloading groceries when the animal snuck inside, and they startled each other. 

After being charged at, Gold backed away slowly, clapping his hands and telling the bear, "No, no, no," which allowed him to get safely into his SUV.

Experts warn that bears are preparing for hibernation at this time of year – packing on as many pounds as possible before winter – which means it's especially important to secure garbage and other attractants in bear-adjacent areas.

According to B.C. Parks, the recommendations for responding to bear encounters differ depending on the animal's behaviour. Specific advice for various scenarios is available online.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Yasmin Gandham and Shannon Paterson