Three more bears were destroyed this morning (September 19) after a sow and her two cubs damaged a home just outside of Wilmer in their attempts to enter it while foraging for food. The bears had entered the same house the day before through a sliding door that had been left open for a cat, lured in by a fresh bat of muffins cooling on the kitchen counter. When they returned today, the sliding door was closed so they broke a couple of window screens and the sliding door, and demolished a balcony railing.

“We need to reiterate that residents must keep all windows and doors shut,” Invermere and Radium Bear Aware community co-ordinator Crystal Leonard said in an email.

Just last week, a bear or bears had entered another house, also near Wilmer and also through a sliding door left open for a cat, and had rummaged through garbage, cupboards and the fridge. A male black bear was trapped at that location and killed.

For more information or to report a bear sighting, contact Leonard at 250-688-0561, or email invermere@bearaware.bc.ca or radium@bearaware.bc.ca.