THUNDER BAY — A bear and two cubs turned what was supposed to be a typical summer afternoon at camp into an experience a city family will likely remember for a long time.
Terry Lozenski and his wife were preparing for supper at their Lake Shebandowan property on Monday, and had to fetch something from their trailer about 22 metres from the main camp.
"I was there first, and she was a little behind me, and as I walked around the corner, lo and behold there was mama and her two cubs right at the foot of the steps into the trailer," Lozenski recounted in an interview Tuesday with Newswatch. "They had already been in the trailer and got food out."
He said he yelled at the animals and scared them off into the bush before venturing inside to inspect for damage.
"They had gone through the screen door. They had literally ripped it off, and the fridge was wide open. I don't know how they managed to open it, but they did, and there were no scratch marks or anything."
Missing from the refrigerator was some cheese that had been stored in a plastic bag.
Grabbing his camera, Lozenski spotted the cubs in a nearby tree, with the sow standing guard on the ground.
"She never did climb the tree. She just kept looking at us to make sure we didn't get between her and the cubs."
When his brother-in-law and the rest of the family showed up, the group was able to scare the bears away.
Lozenski said the trailer sustained minimal damage aside from the screen and a bent window frame.
"They had tried to get in through the dining room window first, and found out that wasn't the way to go, so they went around the trailer to where the door was open and 'thank you very much,' you know."
But that wasn't quite the end of the encounter.
After returning to the main camp for supper, while cleaning up the family spotted the bears back at the trailer.
"They tried to get into it again," Lozenski said, "but we quickly scared them off. As of today, we haven't seen them since."
He said during over 50 years of camping at Shebandowan, this is the first time bears have dropped by while the family has been present.
For the next little while at least, Lozenski said, they plan to keep the main trailer door closed.
