~bear in my backyard - seriously~

today was CRAZY with a capital C

there was a big black bear in my backyard

that's right, in my little backyard

and this is suburbia peeps, small fenced backyards, trampolines, lots of kids

the province
in my neighbour's yard

there was a loud banging on my front door mid-morning

a neighbour told me to get my kids inside and close the doors, there was a bear in the neighbour's yard

~a bear~

seriously?

the door to my backyard was standing wide open.....

i rushed upstairs with the kids just in time to see the bear reach up and effortlessly hop over the fence into our very own backyard

with horror I realised the big window on our deck was still wide open

rushed down to close it and there was the bear, just feet away, paws up on our BBQ, licking and sniffing

~what a beautiful animal~

CBC news

i wish i could tell you there was a happy ending

sadly the bear was shot when it exited onto the street

here's what really got to me:

everyone rushed to get a look at the dead bear

my daughter and I were bawling that such a beautiful creature had been shot, and everyone just wanted to see the dead bear

what is with that?

it was a busy couple hours in our street after that, with police and media and fire trucks

and here's what i have to wonder?

where were the conservation people that were on their way?

could this bear have been saved? darted and relocated?

why do people hang out on the street when there's a wild bear on the loose?

why do the media report this bear as "rogue" and "aggressive" - I know he is a wild animal and potentially dangerous in a suburban setting, but from what i saw of him he was placidly going from yard to yard, not looking for trouble...

so not such a quiet day in my little piece of suburbia

~i'm still a little heartsore and just thought i'd share my day with you~

Tracey