Wandering polar bear caught on camera climbing on roof of house
The big bear had no idea he was being watched and the person inside had no idea what was going on -- until she opened the door.
By
Marianne Mizera, AccuWeather front page editor
Published Apr 14, 2022 5:48 PM EDT
|
Updated Apr 19, 2022 8:21 AM EDT
A polar bear was captured on security footage using a snowbank to climb on top of a home in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada on April 10.
Sometimes creatures of the wild like to venture off and get a little too close for comfort -- moseying around in humankind’s turf.
That’s exactly what happened on April 10 when a polar bear was caught on videotape climbing onto the roof of Bobbi Stevens’ house in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada.
The video was captured on neighbor Danny Keats’ home security footage. When he later went through the video, he was shocked at what he saw -- a huge polar bear climbing from the snow-covered hill near the house right onto the roof of the house.
“My roof is not that strong and I only have one door (on this house). One less nail and he might have come through,” Stevens, 78, told AccuWeather.
A full-grown male polar bear can weigh nearly a ton (2,000 pounds) and an adult female about half that size, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
Stevens said she was lying on her bed reading inside her home when her Labrador Chum came over, jumped on her and scampered off, “so I thought there was somebody at the door," she added.
Completely unaware of all the commotion overhead, she opened the top part of her Dutch door and looked out, only to be greeted by a huge, grinning white ball of fur staring her in the face. She quickly snapped the door shut, called 911 and stayed inside until help arrived. The bear had been standing on a high snowbank near her doorsteps when she peered out.
Moments later, she "saw Mr. Bear" saunter off.
"I've never before been face-to-face with one - and not ever again, hopefully," she said. "I was lucky the way it happened."
Her niece Susan Neufeld told AccuWeather that she later spotted the same bear catching a ride on an ice floe, one of many drifting close to shore in the Atlantic Ocean.
There is still plenty of snow around St. Anthony and high and low temperatures have been hovering around normal for this time year there, which is to say they've been topping out in the mid-30s mostly to go with some occasional snowfall and ice.
This polar bear, which climbed onto the roof of a house in Newfoundland, Canada, on April 10, 2022, was spotted later in the day relaxing on some ice floes. (Photo/Susan Neufeld)
Living on the northernmost tip of the grand island, Newfoundland residents have grown accustomed to the sight of polar bears every now and then. However, there aren’t many bears daring enough to jump atop the houses that dot the shoreline.
Only later, after seeing her neighbor's video, did Stevens find out the bear had been on her roof. "Otherwise, I don't know what I would've done!"
Just on Friday, Newfoundlander Rhonda Rodgers shot video of two polar bears sniffing around a large chicken coop in St. Lunaire-Griquet, a few miles north of St. Anthony.
“I guess bears like chicken, too,” her fiancé Paul Baker said.
In fact, polar bears, measuring 7 to 8 feet long, are the largest carnivorous land mammals on Earth.
Wildlife officials said polar bears are often scared by the presence of humans. But the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada advises that anyone who does encounter one to remember some key things: Stay calm and don’t back away, avoid direct eye contact and notify authorities right away.
Newfoundlander Diane Davis said there seems to be a greater number of polar bear sightings this spring, including one that officials recently tranquilized on Fogo Island and shipped off on the ferry.
“Folks assume they are starving, but the one on Fogo Island was a well-fed young bear. They chase seal herds that have their calves on the ice and some just wander too far,” Davis said.
Polar bears have been known to occupy buildings left vacant for years by humans -- in the Arctic their main habitat -- but those still inhabited by people, not so much.
Last year, a number of polar bears made their way to an abandoned weather station on the small remote island of Kolyuchin off the northeast coast of Siberia.
For Stevens, who’s been busy all week fielding interviews from various journalists, her experience halfway around the globe was, in a way, surreal.
“It was amazing. I think I was numb or something,” she said.
“I mean, after it happened, it’s sort of spooky.”
For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather News
Wandering polar bear caught on camera climbing on roof of house
The big bear had no idea he was being watched and the person inside had no idea what was going on -- until she opened the door.
By Marianne Mizera, AccuWeather front page editor
Published Apr 14, 2022 5:48 PM EDT | Updated Apr 19, 2022 8:21 AM EDT
A polar bear was captured on security footage using a snowbank to climb on top of a home in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada on April 10.
Sometimes creatures of the wild like to venture off and get a little too close for comfort -- moseying around in humankind’s turf.
That’s exactly what happened on April 10 when a polar bear was caught on videotape climbing onto the roof of Bobbi Stevens’ house in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada.
The video was captured on neighbor Danny Keats’ home security footage. When he later went through the video, he was shocked at what he saw -- a huge polar bear climbing from the snow-covered hill near the house right onto the roof of the house.
“My roof is not that strong and I only have one door (on this house). One less nail and he might have come through,” Stevens, 78, told AccuWeather.
A full-grown male polar bear can weigh nearly a ton (2,000 pounds) and an adult female about half that size, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
Stevens said she was lying on her bed reading inside her home when her Labrador Chum came over, jumped on her and scampered off, “so I thought there was somebody at the door," she added.
Completely unaware of all the commotion overhead, she opened the top part of her Dutch door and looked out, only to be greeted by a huge, grinning white ball of fur staring her in the face. She quickly snapped the door shut, called 911 and stayed inside until help arrived. The bear had been standing on a high snowbank near her doorsteps when she peered out.
Moments later, she "saw Mr. Bear" saunter off.
"I've never before been face-to-face with one - and not ever again, hopefully," she said. "I was lucky the way it happened."
Her niece Susan Neufeld told AccuWeather that she later spotted the same bear catching a ride on an ice floe, one of many drifting close to shore in the Atlantic Ocean.
There is still plenty of snow around St. Anthony and high and low temperatures have been hovering around normal for this time year there, which is to say they've been topping out in the mid-30s mostly to go with some occasional snowfall and ice.
This polar bear, which climbed onto the roof of a house in Newfoundland, Canada, on April 10, 2022, was spotted later in the day relaxing on some ice floes. (Photo/Susan Neufeld)
Living on the northernmost tip of the grand island, Newfoundland residents have grown accustomed to the sight of polar bears every now and then. However, there aren’t many bears daring enough to jump atop the houses that dot the shoreline.
Only later, after seeing her neighbor's video, did Stevens find out the bear had been on her roof. "Otherwise, I don't know what I would've done!"
Just on Friday, Newfoundlander Rhonda Rodgers shot video of two polar bears sniffing around a large chicken coop in St. Lunaire-Griquet, a few miles north of St. Anthony.
“I guess bears like chicken, too,” her fiancé Paul Baker said.
In fact, polar bears, measuring 7 to 8 feet long, are the largest carnivorous land mammals on Earth.
Wildlife officials said polar bears are often scared by the presence of humans. But the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada advises that anyone who does encounter one to remember some key things: Stay calm and don’t back away, avoid direct eye contact and notify authorities right away.
Newfoundlander Diane Davis said there seems to be a greater number of polar bear sightings this spring, including one that officials recently tranquilized on Fogo Island and shipped off on the ferry.
“Folks assume they are starving, but the one on Fogo Island was a well-fed young bear. They chase seal herds that have their calves on the ice and some just wander too far,” Davis said.
Polar bears have been known to occupy buildings left vacant for years by humans -- in the Arctic their main habitat -- but those still inhabited by people, not so much.
Last year, a number of polar bears made their way to an abandoned weather station on the small remote island of Kolyuchin off the northeast coast of Siberia.
For Stevens, who’s been busy all week fielding interviews from various journalists, her experience halfway around the globe was, in a way, surreal.
“It was amazing. I think I was numb or something,” she said.
“I mean, after it happened, it’s sort of spooky.”
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For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo