Conservation officers are putting the warning out: black bears are on a hungry push to pack on pounds before their winter hibernation.
Conservation officers caught a bear in the British Properties late last week after it had broken into an Andover Crescent garage by pushing on the door until the bolt broke, according to conservation officer Simon Gravel.
"This bear was 400 pounds. For him, it's nothing to push through a door like this," Gravel said.
The bear's efforts were rewarded with easy access to a meal of unsecured garbage.
Gravel said the bear would likely be dropped off about 40 kilometres up a backcountry logging road. The hope is that he find his own sources of food and not be chased away by another bear that has already claimed that territory. Likely, though, the bear will be back and looking for more easy meals in the same neighbourhood.
"It's not a very good solution for us to relocate a bear like this but we'd like to put the burden on people and not on the bears as much as we can. We'll destroy the bear if he becomes a risk to the public and he's really on the threshold. It's really on the people in the community to save that bear by making sure he doesn't have any reward anymore."
The only thing worse would be if the bear confronted someone inside their home.
"If you have a bear like this in your kitchen, you're going to lose the battle. It's potentially very dangerous. That's why it's so important for everyone to not be negligent and invest in proper storage."
Everyone in bear-prone neighbourhoods should be keeping their yards, garages and sheds free of anything that may attract bears, including garbage, fallen fruit, birdseed or even dirty barbecues.
