CBC

KENORA, ONTARIO CANADA

A giant black bear who spent the winter asleep under a porch in Kenora, Ont., was shot by police on the weekend after it started making nightly trips into the neighbourhood for food.

The 400-pound bear was shot Friday after it charged an animal control officer, police said. Earlier attempts to trap it and tranquillize it had failed.

Homeowner Ken Cavanagh told CBC News he discovered the bear in the crawl space under his veranda about a week ago when it first woke up and started rummaging around.

"We opened the hatch up and we could see him sleeping down in the far corner. This thing was massive," he said.

The animal control department told him it would likely be another month before the bear was ready to come out, he said.

But the bear had other ideas, and started sneaking out at night to look for something to eat.

"The first night he walked out he went after my neighbour's bird feeders and garbage cans and kept dragging the bags back to the hole, and every night after that he came out," he said.

Although Cavanagh had mixed feelings when police decided to kill the bear, he said it was the right choice to make before the bear hurt somebody.

"You know, they didn't put anyone in danger, they weren't shooting at houses, and where they shot the bear he was in a dead-end back lane," he said.

"It's not uncommon to see bears in Kenora, it's just uncommon to have them live under your home."

Cavanagh said he will make sure his crawlspace is closed up properly before next winter.

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