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Bear rustles through a residence on Nelson's North Shore

Nelson RCMP found a black bear cub and sow outside the house. It appears the cub entered and exited through a screen door.
51877westernstarBearcubThinkstockPhotos-88017113
Black bear cub.

A North Shore resident must have thought he was still dreaming when he awoke around 11 p.m. Tuesday and discovered a bear walking through his house.

RCMP say the Ridgewood Road resident called them to say he heard some rustling. Upon getting up and looking out his bedroom door, he spotted what he believed was a small black bear cub looking at him from around a corner in the kitchen area down the hall. The homeowner climbed out a window and called police.

Cpl. Michael Stefani attended and upon walking around the side of the house to the deck, met what looked like a mother black bear approximately 10 feet (3 m) away. Stefani scared the bear off.

A closer inspection of the home revealed the bear had apparently pulled a screen out of the window of a side door on the deck. But it was unclear if the cub was still inside, because the bear he saw outside wasn’t small.

Stefani searched the home room by room and was satisfied the bear by the deck was the one that had been inside. It appears the bear went in and out of the home using the same window on the door.

There was no damage to the house, and a small dog and cat inside were also unharmed.