Bear sniffing around Wekweeti homes put down after failed efforts to deter it

A black bear that was seen rummaging through people's garbage cans and creeping up to homes last week in Wekweeti, N.W.T., had to be put down on Friday.

Bill Braden, who was visiting the community to do some research for a book, said he spotted the bear making "occasional forays" into the community to check out the "smorgasbord" in residents' garbage cans.

Around two in the morning on Thursday, he got some free entertainment, watching two dogs chase the bear outside his window at the Snare Lake Lodge.

"They were obviously playing a game of cat and mouse, bear and dog," said Braden. "They were sort of chasing him from behind and giving it a couple of good nips in its behind, but the bear was having none of that. It quickly turned around and chased them off."

According to wildlife and environment manager Adrian Lizotte, the community warned the N.W.T. Department of Environment and Natural Resources on July 11 that the bear was becoming a problem.

He said the department gave the community some ideas to deter the bear, like honking car horns.

Braden watched one man throw stones to try to scare the bear away, but the bear didn't seem to mind.

Although the animal didn't seem aggressive, Lizotte said it had become bold and gotten used to the community.

That's when the department decided to send a staff member to the community to assess the situation.

"It was seen numerous times around the school and, you know, around people's homes," said Lizotte. "In the aspect of public safety we just felt, for everyone's safety, it would be best to put the animal down."

He said that while bears can sometimes be relocated, it's likely this one would have come back to the community. He explained it would have had to be flown away in a sling below a helicopter, which only has the speed and fuel to travel so far away from the community.

Braden said while it's sad and unfortunate, people in the community were "very concerned" about the bear.

"It's a story we're all too familiar with," Braden said.

However, Lizotte said it's not often that a bear is put down in Wekweeti, a community of less than 150 people. The last time he remembers a bear causing problems there was in 2011, he said.

But he has some advice for preventing bears from coming into the community in the future.

He suggests that people keep their garbage and compost tidy, and fence off areas like the landfill, which have garbage that can attract animals.

"If they do break a window and try and enter your home, make sure that you have a way to get out of your home, or a way to protect yourself," he said.

It's also within people's rights to defend their life and property by putting a bear down if it does enter their home, he added.

However, he said the best option is always to try and scare the bear away first.

Lizotte said there had been reports of another bear possibly hanging around the community, however, the department had not received any calls for assistance about it.