Tony Webb, chairman of the North Shore Black Bear Network, was taking an evening stroll in their Princess Park neighbourhood when his wife stopped to inspect a rug that had been left out as a giveaway by a neighbour.
"She went up, knocked on the door and a chap answered it," Webb recalled. After exchanging a few words, the conversation took a turn. "He went and turned around, and he said: 'Oh! There's a bear in the house!'"
The man fled the home and the bear left through an open window. B.C. conservation officers attended the scene and installed a trap on Queens Road near the park.
The bear was likely a regular in the neighbourhood, according to Webb.
"He's been into a bit of garbage in the area, I think," Webb said.
The animal was not aggressive, and had a tendency to retreat from humans, according to Webb, who lamented the likelihood of the bear's demise.
"It didn't break in; it walked in. They just follow their nose, and this person had his backdoor open," he said.
Gaining entry into a home will probably lower the chances of conservation officers relocating the bear, Webb said.
"Conservation officers say it's crossed the line, and it'll be killed, I'm afraid," he said.
