A black bear and two cubs were shooed into the woods by resource officers off Old Airport Road Thursday morning.
“Our staff will certainly be all over monitoring this situation as with all bear sightings,” Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) department spokesperson Mike Westwick wrote in an email. “We want to stress that residents in Yellowknife can help by calling the local wildlife emergencies line at 873-7181 when they’ve seen a bear as soon as it’s safe. Our staff will respond quickly and decisively to protect public safety.”
The department posted to Facebook that a mother bear and two cubs were seen near Great Slave Helicopters. In fact, “one of the bears made an aggressive charge towards a bystander walking past before ENR staff were able to scare the bears away from the area with noise deterrents,” according to the post. “Thankfully, a fence between them prevented any harm.
“Remember, bears will go to great lengths to protect their cubs: please remain cautious in the area and make sure you stay Bear Aware if out on the land.”