Residents in Fort Smith, N.W.T., seeing more bears in town this year

Some residents in Fort Smith, N.W.T., say they're seeing more bears in and around town this year, and it's not clear why.

Mary Bourquesaid she recently had a close encounter in her own backyard.

"There was some willows moving in behind my fence, and Ithought, well someone's picking the Saskatoons back there. And then I took a closer look and saw this black head peeking over my fence," she recalled.

She went inside and watched the animal through her window. Soon, there was another one.

"Next thing I knew, there's a little guy right on top my shed doing the same thing, picking Saskatoons. He was kind of cute but needed to go somewhere else!"

Bourque called wildlife officials, but the bears were gone by the time they got there. She says it's the first time she's ever had bears so close to her yard.

She wonders ifthis year's intense wildfires in the region have disturbed the animals more than in other years.

"Every year we have a few bear sightings but I think this year's been more into residential areas where you don't expect them to be," she said.

Kennedy Weber, another Fort Smith resident, described a similar close encounter she recently had when she was at homewith her young son.

"I heard the bushes ruffle. When I looked over I seen the bear walking along our back fence. He was a very curious bear! He stood up on his back legs to get a good look at us," she wrote to CBC News.

Her husband came out and managed to scare the animal away. Weber said it was a frightening encounter, and she feels it could have turned out badly.

She also said she had no idea there were bears in the area, and when she tried to call wildlife officials, no one answered.

"My son can't play in the backyard by himself anymore because of this," she wrote.

Other residents have reported bear sightings on the town's neighbouring trail system.

A spokesperson for N.W.T.'s Environment department told CBC Newshe's asked local officials about the bear activity in Fort Smith, but said "they may be a little busy with fire response."