It’s still here and although people want it gone, they don’t want it harmed.
From Thursday until Saturday morning Port Hope Police are still receiving calls about a bear wandering the streets feeding off mainly bird feeders.
On Friday, May 1, 2020 Laurie Stata from Centennial Drive found she had a visit from the bear scaled her six foot fence to get into her back yard.
“I didn’t get to see him personally, he was a little shy.”
“But when I came out at 3 a.m. my patio furniture was tossed all over the place, my bird feeder was ripped down and there was a giant paw print on my back door.
With a new six foot fence surrounding her yard Stata said she was surprised the bear would come in.
“It’s very scary. I thought I was safe with it being fenced in and I’m so glad I didn’t run into him in the night when my dogs had to go out because they would have gone after him for sure.”
“The scariest part of all was the paw print on my door.”
After searching the yard, she found in the back corner where the bear climbed over the fence, but she doesn’t know the area where it got in.
Her three bird feeders have been empty for two years as Stata says she has been unable to climb up the ladder to put fill them.
“I guess they could smell the leftovers.”
Like many others, Stata hopes Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry can safely capture the bear and have him relocated.
“I’d hate to see him shot – he’s just hungry.”
Just a few doors down, a Canadian flag hanging off the side of a garage was torn down.
Another backyard on Hewson Drive was entered it’s believed throughout the day.
Bear tracks can be clearly seen going through a freshly tilled garden.
The tracks are approximately eight inches long which indicate the bear could weigh up to 400 pounds or more.
Once again on Friday evening numerous calls were reported to police of people spotting the bear in their yards and on the street.
On Payne Crescent, police converged on the bear activating their sirens numerous times to scare the bear.
The following day on Saturday, people reported seeing the bear on Marsh Road, possibly heading out of Port Hope.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
