Doorbell video shows family of black bears scared off by dog in Sudbury, Ont.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a "mad dash" inside after seeing a bear.
It is springtime in northern Ontario and that means hungry bears are out of hibernation and looking for food.
Mama black bear stands on hind legs trying to get cub out of tree on Selkirk Street in Sudbury. April 10, 2024 (Christina Carmichael)
The Sudbury bear sighting reporting map shows the animals have been seen in the last couple of weeks all around the city, with a majority of sightings in the New Sudbury area of town this week.
Christina Carmichael's outdoor security camera captured a video of a mama bear and her three cubs on Selkirk Street in the Donovan area at 8:37 p.m. April 10.
The video shows the family of animals walking up her driveway toward the house and when her dog starts to bark, the bears run away and one cub climbs the bare tree in the front yard.
That is when Carmichael's husband Rob brought their blue box out to the street, not seeing the cub in the tree until he was at the curb.
"How Rob didn't run into momma, I'll never know," Christina said.
"Where there's a cub, there's a momma."
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
She is crediting her two-year-old Sheepadoodle Blue with scaring the bears away with his bark.
Blue, the two-year-old Sheepadoodle scared off a family of bears approaching his house in Sudbury. (Christina Carmichael)
While living in bear country, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry tells dog owners to check the yard before letting their pets outside and keep an eye on them.
"Keep your dog on a leash … be aware that unleashed dogs can cause defensive black bear attacks on people," the MNRF said.
"Unleashed dogs returning to their owners can cause a chase response that may lead a bear back to the owner."
The City of Greater Sudbury collects bear sighting information -- which can be reported online, by calling 705-674-4455 ext BEAR, or by email at bear@greatersudbury.ca – to determine patterns and intensity, but does not respond.
Non-emergency bear encounters can be reported to the MNRF at 1-866-514-2327.
If a bear poses an immediate threat to personal safety and exhibits threatening or aggressive behaviour, MNRF said to call 911 or local police.
Emergency bear encounters include entering a schoolyard when class is in session, stalking people and lingering at a site, entering or trying to enter a residence, wandering into a public gathering or killing pets or livestock and lingers at the site.
"Generally, the noisier the bear is, the less dangerous it is, provided you do not approach. The noise is meant to 'scare' you off and acts as a warning signal," the MNRF said on its Bear Wise website.
"Stop, do not panic and remain calm."
Here are some tips to use during a bear encounter:
- Slowly back away while keeping the bear in sight and wait for it to leave
- Throw objects, wave your arms and make noise if the bear doesn't leave
- Drop any food you may be carrying and slowly move away
- Leave a bear alone if it is in a tree, it will come down when it feels safe
Things to avoid during a bear encounter:
- Run, climb a tree or swim to try to get away
- Kneel down
- Make direct eye contact
- Let your dog off its leash
- Play dead unless you are attacked by a mother bear defending her cubs
- Attempt to feed the bear
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
The death toll in Kharkiv attack rises to 14 as Zelenskyy warns of Russian troop movements
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Sunday that Russia is preparing to intensify its offensive along Ukraine's northern border, as the death toll rose to 14 in an aerial bomb attack on a large construction supplies store in the city of Kharkiv.
Norway hands over papers for diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian prime minister
Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels freed over 100 war prisoners, the Red Cross says
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday released more than 100 war prisoners linked to the country’s long-running conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
No sign Canada has a plan to reach NATO defence spending target: U.S. NATO ambassador
The U.S. ambassador to NATO says she has seen no indication that Canada has a plan to reach the NATO spending target of two per cent of GDP on defence.