WINNIPEG -- Ontario provincial staff trapped and killed an aggressive bear near Kenora, leaving its three bear cubs wandering around cottages in the area before being rescued.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) said, in late April, ministry staff were called about a bear in a rural residential area west of Kenora.
"The ministry was advised there was a large single bear, that had ripped off the door of a shed, broken into a car, and tried to enter a home," a spokesperson told CTV News in a written statement.
The spokesperson said because of these concerns, the staff trapped and subsequently killed the bear.
Cate Chant, who lives near Kenora, said earlier in the week she heard a knocking on her door, and found three bear cubs wandering on her deck.
Chant said she called the MNRF, and was told the mother bear had been trapped.
"I think they hadn't realized at the time that she had cubs," Chant said, adding she was asked to contact MNRF if the cubs turned up again.
The MNRF spokesperson confirmed three cubs showed up in the general area where the bear had been trapped.
They said the cubs were captured on Thursday, and were brought to an MNRF facility. They said as of Friday, plans were being made to take the cubs to a bear rehabilitation centre.
Chant said the whole situation is a good reminder for people in the area.
"When they do things to inadvertently attract bears, that there can be unintended consequences of that," she said.
"As humans, it is our responsibility to share the environment with other animals and not just assume that everything should revolve around us."
On its website, MNRF said if bears learn they can find food where people live, they will keep coming back for it as long as the food is there. It said relocation and dispatch of bears are poor ways of trying to prevent conflicts with bears.
The MNRF has tips online to avoid encounters with bears.
