Uninvited guest: Bear tries to claw its way inside North West River home

A family in North West River has some cleaning up to do, after an unwelcome visitor tried to make its way inside their home.

Ryan Butt says it was about 4:20 a.m. when he awoke to an unusual noise.At first, he said it sounded the way siding does when a piece comes loose and bangs against the house.

"Then when I came out to look, I thought it might have been a dog out there," he said. "But it was a bear on the step, ripping the siding apart."

By this time, Butt's wife had joined him to investigate the racket.

Startled, they both started banging on the windows and doors to try and scare the animal off.

I can't take no chances of it getting in.- Ryan Butt

When they started hearing the sound of claws scratching at the wood, they called the police.

"I didn't know what we were going to do," Butt said."I was getting pretty nervous. But the cops did show up, and they had their guns drawn when they came, but the bear was gone by that time."

When Butt went outside to check the damage, he was shocked.

"All the siding is torn off. There's nails hauled out, and there's claw marks in the wood ... claw marks all through the siding along the house," he said.

"I guess it was just trying to find a point to break through."

Too close for comfort

Butt lives in a family-friendly neighbourhood in central Labrador.

He said it's scary to see the wildlife becoming so comfortable.

"I noticed on my way home from Goose Bay that any time there's a bear on the road, there's threeor fourvehicles stopped," Butt said.

"Some people feeding them, other people's out of their vehicle taking pictures. The bear just getting tame, it's not scared of us at all."

Butt said he won't be taking any more chances. He's going to start keeping a rifle in the house to protect his family in case the bear decides to try and break in again.

"I can't take no chances of it getting in. A lot of kids around ... [it's] scary with a bear that tame."

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