Alberta man baffled after 7 bears caught on camera on his deck

An Alberta family woke up to quite the mess on their deck earlier this week and couldn’t help but wonder what the heck happened.

David Meier received a call from his aunt on Wednesday morning. Meier owns the home his aunt and uncle live in and has security cameras set up around the Bonanza, Alta. property.

His aunt told him there were pop cans strewn everywhere, a couch had been torn up and there was garbage all over the deck.

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Meier checked the video feed and realized his relatives were visited by some curious bears the night before.

“At 3 a.m. there was one little bear, then there were two little bears, then there were three little bears and it kept going up and up and up until I actually got seven on the camera,” he told Global News.

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Living in the area, Meier is used to seeing bears, but he said he’s never seen a group this size before.

“I’ve never seen seven bears in one group. A mama and four cubs is the highest I’ve ever seen.”

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Meier said the size of the bears leads him to believe they were young and had just been released by their mom. He figures they came up from a nearby canyon looking for a meal.

“They were a little bit in awe of the numbers,” he said of showing his aunt and uncle the footage.

Fall is the most active time of year for bear sightings, according to Alberta Fish and Wildlife.

Bonanza, Alta. is located about 585 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.