Rare sighting: Hungry, determined bear climbs into bird's nest
Ken MacDonald spends a lot of time looking way up into the trees, watching birds.
But his binoculars captured something unexpected at a heron nesting ground in Severn Township on Tuesday: a black bear in a treetop heron's nest in search of lunch.
"This must have been one determined bear or one hungry bear because he climbed up four or five storeys up to the top of this tree and got in the nest," MacDonald says.
MacDonald says that in spring, a heronry, or area where herons nest, is typically noisy with bird chicks pleading for food. But with the bear nearby, there was only eerie quiet.
MacDonald watched the bear in amazement for an hour. Photos he's shared of the encounter online have picked up international attention.
"It's great to see a bear, especially one that doesn't run away right away. So we were quite excited about seeing it. Of course, you feel a little bad for the herons," MacDonald says.
Mike McIntosh, the founder and president of the Bear With Us Centre for Bears, who has been working with the animals for nearly 30 years, is impressed.
"It wouldn't be really common because it would take a very hungry bear to climb that high on a very spindly old tree. And then it has to be a small bear, a young bear that's not fully grown to be able to do that."
McIntosh says it was likely the bear's strong sense of smell that propelled the bear upward in search of food.
"It probably found out that (heron) eggs taste good and could smell the eggs way up on the top of those trees," McIntosh says.
He explains that in the spring, bears are typically living off some leftover body fat from the colder months, adding in some plants. But as the temperature rises, their diets shift.
"The grass is no longer edible, and neither are the leaves. So they get pretty hungry because they're just walking around with nothing to eat. And then they'll start looking for other things-grubs and insects. In this case, blue heron eggs."
McIntosh says bears will have a new food supply when berries ripen in about a month. Until then, he advises that homeowners put their bird feeders and food waste out of reach to help bears and humans co-exist peacefully.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'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.
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.
'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.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
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.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.