Bear in Calgary caught eating Halloween pumpkins while residents were sleeping
A black bear in Calgary is making every day Thanksgiving by helping himself to pumpkins in a residential community.
The furry thief has been waiting until the residents of Lakeview are asleep and then gobbling up their jack-o-lanterns (and other edible items) in the night.
The bear was first spotted on Oct. 14, when a Calgarian managed to catch the hungry little fella on tape.
Captured by my next-door neighbour! pic.twitter.com/cWHlBCMSh3
— Jesse Salus (@jessesalus) October 14, 2020
Initially, people assumed that the bear was just having a nosy since he didn't actually seem that invested in eating the pumpkins.
From the bite marks, it looks like the black bear only nibbled at a couple of festive squashes before ultimately deciding that they weren't worth his time.
This morning 3 of the pumpkins on our front steps had bite marks and were moved around. It’s a decent sized bite; I have to assume it was the bear. Not a pumpkin fan, apparently! pic.twitter.com/juv3GLLLqU
— Jesse Salus (@jessesalus) October 14, 2020
However, everything changed when the pumpkin snatcher struck again just a few days later — this time, tipping over compost bins and even reportedly eating a large deer.
Lakeview residents took their pumpkins inside, just to be safe.
Prints seen in the fresh snow. No pumpkins to eat this time so no hanging around. pic.twitter.com/GlNXdl5je0
— Jesse Salus (@jessesalus) October 17, 2020
The black bear, apparently bored of pumpkins and deer, decided to test out another meal next.
On Monday evening, the furry thief visited yet another neighbour's porch for a late night dinner of birdseed.
People in Calgary are being told to leave their pumpkins indoors after sightings of bears showing up on doorsteps 😂-📹 northernwavetv #Canada #Calgary #YYC #cangeo #CanadianWildlife pic.twitter.com/aZUZr8NvSF
— Freshdaily (@freshdaily) October 21, 2020
Calgary police were called to the scene, prompting the black bear to scurry up a tree and hide from officers.
The black bear was ultimately tranquilized and removed from the property in the wee hours of Tuesday morning; thankfully, police officials have confirmed the bear was unharmed.
This was a few minutes after the bear climbed the tree. It can be seen in the search light. pic.twitter.com/83pdQE2CgH
— Jesse Salus (@jessesalus) October 20, 2020
Fish and Wildlife officers confirmed that the plan is to relocate the black bear west into the mountains on Wednesday morning.
Hopefully, the black bear is already safely in a new home.
Brad Davies
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