Falcon Lake family escapes cottage as bear binges on sandwiches

A family in Falcon Lake had an unwanted guest at their cottage and required the help of RCMP and Conservation Officers. 

Brayden Juras says he had heard some loud crashes early Monday morning and thought it was his brother getting ready for work or to go on a fishing trip. 

His parents also heard loud noises and his dad investigated. 

He found a bear eating dog food from a container that had been closed. Where was the dog? She had passed away a couple days earlier.

Juras says the bear had also opened their fridge and ate a bunch of sandwiches that were left over from a baby shower. 

They’ve lived in the community for many years, and he says this was the first time a bear broke into their cottage while they were at home. 

“What the Conservation Officer told us was that bears will press on windows or doors and if they feel resistance from something like glass through the screen, they won't go further. But this particular window had been cracked about halfway open. So, what the Conservation Officer thinks is the bear must have pressed it and not found any resistance. And yeah, on its way in, he got into the kitchen and had a little snack.” 

Juras says the family got out safely and quietly through bedroom windows, phoned for help, and then watched the officials urge the bear out of their home. 

“The bear gave a pretty loud snarl and then jumped back out a different window. It was quite something to watch. We were out by the garage and the guest cabin in the yard watching this all happen after we had gotten out of the cabin, so it was quite the sight. I've never seen anything or heard of anything like this happening before, certainly not when we were actually in the cabin staying there.” 

He says they’ll definitely be more mindful now to close the windows for night. 

-With files from Carly Koop.