Keith Lang, a resident of Pincher Creek in southern Alberta, has seen grizzly bears on his property before, but never any as aggressive as the three that entered his yard last week.
Lang was watering his horses and cattle last Thursday evening when he saw the three grizzlies coming toward his home. He wasn’t too concerned, assuming that the bears would take a detour around the house, but instead, they entered the yard and went after some ducks in a pen next to the house.
Lang and his wife and daughter entered their car and began blasting the horn at the bears, who seemed relatively unfazed. “There was no fear in those bears,” Lang told the CBC.
“I’ve seen bears cruise through the yard in the middle of the day and once you spook them, usually they will run,” he said. “These ones did not care whatsoever and they weren’t going to be told what to do and they weren’t going to leave, they were going to stick around. We made a pile of noise and I eventually drove that truck up to within about 10 feet of that bear before he left.”
One of the bears returned to the yard after being scared away and seemed to be investigating the car where Lang and his family were taking refuge.
Lang’s daughter captured the encounter on video (warning: this video contains profanities), and one of the bears can be seen coming in through the fence and moving towards the car. After Lang blasts the car horn at the bear, it retreats, only to return again a moment later and stand on its hind legs.
The bears’ persistence in entering the yard has the family concerned. “This time of year they are getting hungry and a little bolder and these ones were showing no fear,” Lang said.
He also told the CBC that Alberta Fish and Wildlife has offered electric fencing for the duck pen. The ducks, he reported, are doing fine.
