Invading bear chased, punched and then shot

Animal killed after forcing its way into Gibsons home

Sunshine Coast RCMP shot and killed a black bear Sunday after the animal terrified a Gibsons family when it strode into their home and refused to leave without a fight.

Eleri Froude was at home with her young sons Camden and Ivany when the bear walked through an open sliding glass door and into their Franklin Beach home.

At first, all Froude noticed was giggling. That came from Ivany, who had been followed by the bear up a set of stairs and into the home.

But when Ivany stated very clearly and slowly: “Mom, look,” Froude turned around and saw the uninvited guest.

“There was a black bear in my dining room, drooling on my table about two feet away from my son,” Froude said.

A family friend happened to be beside Froude at the time, helping out with some renovations. He calmly handed Ivany to Froude, and Froude grabbed Camden.

“He said, ‘Get those kids in the bedroom now,’ ” Froude said.

So Froude ran down the hall and locked herself and the kids in a room while the friend shouted, banged pots and shook chairs, trying to scare the bear outside. Instead, the bear did a tour of the home before backing out through the same door it came in.

But the bear would not leave entirely. With the animal halfway in and halfway out, the friend punched it right in the nose.

“The bear jerked its head back and he slammed the slider and he locked it,” Froude said.

Still, the bear would not leave. “I’ve got teeth marks all up and down my door. He took the screen door right off,” Froude said.

The bear was still scratching at the door and chewing on the screen when police arrived, Const. Karen Whitby of the Sunshine Coast RCMP said in a release.

“Police scared the bear into the bushes with air horns and by throwing water bottles at it,” Whitby said. “Shortly after though, the bear returned to the house and tried to open the door to the garage and chased a male down the street before he could jump into his truck.”

After police spoke with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, the decision was made to kill the bear due to its aggressive behaviour.

The bear was shot by RCMP. The carcass was removed by conservation officers, who said the adult male weighed 220 to 250 pounds.

“(The bear) did not have any overt signs that it had been suffering from any illnesses that would have resulted in its unusually brazen behaviour,” Whitby said.