From my local newspaper in the past week, not far from my house 
Bear visits supermarket
Bear visits supermarket
Comical bear story could have sad end
By MARK RIEDER
R-G STAFF
Saturday May 06, 2006
Peace River Record Gazette ? A black bear that wandered into Peace River IGA last Tuesday morning will likely be destroyed if captured.
Lyle Fullerton, spokesman for Alberta Fish and Wildlife, said since the bear appears to have no fear of humans there is the possibility of future incidents that might not end as peacefully.
The fact that the bear superficially bit a man who held a camera phone in one hand and some food in the other was ?strike three? for the animal.
?It?s a very unfortunate reality,? said Fullerton.
He said if this turns out to be an isolated incident and the bear does not have further incidents with humans, it is possible no further action will have to be taken.
It?s not clear if it has left town for good so a trap has been set in the area it was last seen.
?We hope that he?s learned his lesson and he?s not coming back for any more pies,? said Fullerton.
But this is not likely since the bear has shown ?no real regard for human proximity?, according to Fullerton.
The event has spurred a number of e-mails from the public to the Record-Gazette and other publications chastising the man who tried to photograph a wild animal at such close range.
The man?s injuries are said to be no more serious than a cut finger.
Fullerton said the bear is young but still able to cause damage if sufficiently provoked.
?Even a bear of this size, 100 to 150 pounds, can do some very serious damage to a person,? he said, adding bears of that age are away from their mothers for the first time, fending for themselves.
When the animal entered the IGA, it did not menace any of the employees or customers.
?It got into the bakery and proceeded to climb up into the cake case and... figured it needed dessert,? said IGA assistant manager Brent Rostad, ?The only thing it did was (eat) strawberry shortcakes and cakes and a few pies.?
Fullerton said though the region has a large black bear population, this is not a common occurrence.
?It?s a bit unusual to have a bear walk past the doors, the doors open and obviously the smells were very attractive for it and it ventured into the store,? said Fullerton.
Rostad said a few heads turned as the bear made its way through the store at around 12:30 a.m.
?It was noticed right away, there were some janitorial and other staff that were here (who) it cruised right by,? he said.
After a couple of minutes gorging on pastries, the bear went to the deli.
When it saw windows near the deli, the bear tried unsuccessfully to get out that way. At that point an employee began herding the animal toward the doors that had been propped open.
Fullerton urges people not to approach black bears no matter what.
?It probably wasn?t the most appropriate thing to try and move the bear out of the store by themselves. This is a situation that obviously we take very seriously,? he said.
Fish and Wildlife were called and they sent an officer to the location.
?When the officer arrived the bear was actually out of the store and had moved across the street to the Dairy Queen area,? said Fullerton, ?The officer dispatched it with a couple of rubber bullets and sent it on its way. Hopefully that made enough of a consequence that it won?t return.?
Rostad said the bear, though hungry, was otherwise well mannered.
?It did not make a mess or leave a mess,? he said.
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