Second Bear Attack Reported

By
Content Team
-
49
file photo of bear spotted at Third Line area last Spring

Officers with the Patrol Services Division of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service have responded to a second call for service regarding a black bear that has attacked a citizen.

Today at approximately 12:20 p.m. a woman was walking her dog off leash in the 1000 block of Old Garden River Road.  The woman and her dog inadvertently came between 3 bear cubs that were in the area.  Once that happened; a mother bear very quickly and aggressively charged at the woman.

At that point the dog engaged the bear and allowed the woman time to escape the area.  The bear attacked the dog and the dog sustained life threatening injuries as a result of the encounter.  The bear did stay in the area for approximately 20 minutes before leaving and police were then contacted.

Officers with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service are working closely with officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources to coordinate a response and resolve this matter.  In the meantime, citizens are reminded to use caution when dealing with bears.  There are many things we can do to reduce the chances of an encounter.

Residents are reminded to keep garbage secure and inaccessible to animals.  Members of the public are urged to contact the Police and The Ministry of Natural Resources Bear Wise Hotline to report encounters.

In an emergency situation where a bear poses an immediate threat to public safety, people are encouraged to call 911 immediately.  These situations may include a bear that is;

Entering a school yard when school is in session,

Stalking people and lingering at a site,

Entering or trying to enter a residence,

Wandering into a public gathering,

Killing livestock/pets and lingering at the site.

For all non-emergency encounters citizens are encouraged to call the toll-free Bear Wise hotline at 1-866-514-2327 (TTY 705-945-7641).  These situations may include a bear that is;

Roaming around, checking garbage cans

Breaking into a shed where garbage or food is stored
In a tree

Pulling down a bird feeder or knocking over a barbecue

Moving through a backyard or field but is not lingering.

Trained staff with The Ministry of Natural Resources can provide advice about black bear behaviour, how to avoid human-bear conflicts, and how to remove attractants from your property to reduce your chances of an encounter.

The Bear Wise program provides advice to municipalities, the public, and other stakeholders about what they can do to keep black bears away from urban and semi-urban areas and how to manage problem bears.  Visit Ontario.ca/bearwise for tips on how to reduce the chances of an encounter and to learn more about bears.

Remember, it only takes one property where attractants are not managed carefully to draw bears into a neighbourhood.  Everyone must work together to help keep attractants to a minimum and reduce the likelihood of an encounter.

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49 COMMENTS

  1. Before my parents passed away we discovered a den just beyond the tree line of their property at 1452 peoples rd . The property runs through to Old Goulais bay Rd as this section of People’s rd and old goulais bay rd properties butt up to each other and each year we would watch the sow and her cubs sometimes twins other years triplets roam through the yard . This may be the same resident bear , she was a good size . If anyone is looking to locate and remove them from the area . I’d hate to see these cubs rendered orphans although a menacing bear is a great concern .

  2. Sorry people if you live near the bush you will get bear’s .stop and put garbage away so it doesn’t smell and if that doesn’t work i gueaa you should move if you don’t like the bear’s they were here first before people .

  3. geez, this is bad. I bought my mom and myself air horns but I don’t want to run into one.

  4. This bear needs to be put down.
    Bears are preditors.
    The mnr needs to step up and stop making decisions based on peoples feelings.

    • Bears are not necessarily predators , they are protectors of their young , albeit fiercely but who isn’t ? For the most part black bears are creatures of opportunity , food trash , bird and deer feeders etc will attract them but for the most part they usually want little to do with us . This sounds like the resident Sow who has denned up and raised her cubs year after year in the bush between peoples rd and old goulais bay road , for as many years as I can recall we’ve always been able to just give each other a wide birth and no harm has come either way . perhaps if anything she’s becoming more territorial with regard to her cubs protection .

  8. Chances are it’s the exact same bear as the other attack due to the vicinity and it got a taste of human blood from the first one. It has to be shot.

  9. I am really tired of hearing about being “bear wise”. Our garbage is put away, there are no bird feeders in our yard, the stupid bears have never come on our deck for the BBQ we use, etc. Etc. BUT we have bears come through our yard on a regular basis. We never had this problem when there was a regular spring bear hunt, and this poor excuse of a renewed spring bear hunt is not helping.

  10. I’m thinking this would be considered a Immediate Threat. Time for something to be done by City Police or MNR before someone is seriously injured or mauled by this bear. Sounds like a Possibility it’s the same mother and cubs!!

    • Ya that’s smart! That is always the friggim answer isn’t it! They still have all the right to be there! That’s their home!
      If you shoot the mother you just killed 4 bears because the cubs will not survive!
      People have been warned that the bear is around!

  17. The MNR Bear program hasn’t opened yet. They ask that :
    PLEASE call to report in town bear sightings
    1-866-514-2327
    This is MNRF hotline, and they NEED updates.
    Only takes a minute , Thanks !

  19. Bear attack # 2 and it’s still April. Surely bears within the city limits could be collared or tagged somehow and their proximity to humans monitored on a website to alert people that bears are nearby. My guess is we’ll wait until someone is killed to take preventative action.

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