Bear takes Sunday morning stroll in Stittsville field
A black bear was spotted out for a Sunday stroll in a field in Stittsville.
"I couldn't believe it. Very rare for me. I've never seen anything like that," said Laurie Viau Gillard in an interview with CTV News Ottawa.
Photos showed the bear in a field in the area of Fernbank Road and Terry Fox Drive around 11 a.m.
"There were three deer and I was wondering what they were running towards and it was a big black bear," said Viau Gilliard.
A video posted on Twitter a few hours later showed a black bear in a field in the area of Terry Fox Drive and Eagleson Road.
News of the black bear in the field was the talk of the neighbourhood Sunday afternoon.
"It does scare me. We have a lot of children in the area," said one resident.
"I'm not really surprised about it, we've seen other wildlife in the area," said another resident in the neighbourhood.
Ottawa police did not receive any calls about the bear. Police advise people not to approach the animal, and if it enters a residential area to call police.
Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources offers the following tips if you encounter a bear:
- Slowly back away while keeping the bear in sight and wait for it to leave
- If the bear does not leave, throw objects, wave your arms and make noise with a whistle or air horn
- Prepare to use bear spray
- If you are near a building or vehicle get inside as a precaution
- Drop any food you may be carrying and slowly move away
- If a bear is in a tree, leave it alone. Leave the area. The bear will come down when it feels safe
The ministry says if you encounter a bear, do not run, climb a tree or swim and do not attempt to feed the animal.
There have been several bear sightings in the Ottawa area.
Last July, the National Capital Commission trapped a bear that was spotted in Mud Lake, a conservation area near Britannia Village.
In May 2020, a black bear was spotted in a tree along Terry Fox Drive near Kanata Avenue. Conservation officers tranquilized the bear and transported it back to the woods.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'