Bear looking for a snack pays visit to Ingramport family
'It was just kind of stalking us, waiting for us to go so he could finish the orange peels'
Max Taylor was lying in bed with his dog three or four days ago when his mother walked into the room wearing a concerned look.
"My mom walks in and she goes, 'Hey, are you with the dog?' And I said, "Yeah, I'm with the dog.' She looks all panicked. I'm wondering why she's looking so panicked. Then she shows me the security feed," Taylor said.
When he looked at the feed from the porch surveillance camera at their home in Ingramport, N.S., he didn't immediately recognize what he was seeing. What was there was furry, so it might be a dog.
But when the animal looked up, it became obvious it was a bear.
Feeding on compost
The bear got into some compost and was having a snack. A crow had been in compost an hour before the bear arrived, Taylor said.
"So I leaped out of bed and I'm thinking, 'OK, what do I do now? I can't fight the bear,' ... So then we figured we had to make a lot of noise, so we go up right to the window and start yelling, 'Bear, bear, bear, bear.'"
The bear noticed, but wasn't frightened off. So then they yelled some more and banged on the window. The bear then ran up a tree and waited.
"We definitely saw it and it was just kind of stalking us, waiting for us to go so he could finish the orange peels that were left in the compost. I mean, great find, bear, nice job," Taylor said.
The family kept making noise and the bear stayed away.
Bear sightings rare in area
Since the incident, Taylor said he's been told by neighbours that there hadn't been a bear sighting like that in their neighbourhood in 25 years.
Taylor said he was concerned the bear might enter the home and harm his dog. He thought he might have to fight the bear if it wouldn't leave.
"I was thinking if this thing gets in the house what's my move, what's the tactic? Is it a left hook? Do I need a weapon? Maybe it was because I was tired that day but, regardless, I really did think it would have to come down to that," he said.
"And that's why I didn't panic right away because I figured I would have to stay calm, cool and collected and take care of this bear and save my family."
With files from Melissa Friedman