Home video captures the moment a black bear approached boy in B.C.

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Home surveillance video has captured the moment a young child came face to face with a black bear in B.C. before a bystander intervened.

In a video that has gone viral, the young boy can be seen with a scooter near a residential property in Port Coquitlam, B.C. A bear then approaches the boy, who appears unbothered, despite the bear coming within mere metres of him.

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A man can then be seen walking toward the bear with his arms raised, causing the bear to take cover behind a vehicle before running out of the frame. In the background, the boy can be seen riding his scooter away.

According to media reports, the man has been identified as Liam Brett.

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In an interview with CTV, Brett’s wife, Kaitlyn, said they were pulling into her father’s driveway this month when she caught sight of the bear in her rear window. 

Seeing the boy, as well, Kaitlyn urged her husband to intervene.

“I could just see the intention of the bear going towards the kid so then I was like, go Liam! Go! Go! Go!” she said.

Despite the boy appearing unmoved by the encounter, Brett said that wasn’t the case.

“The child just looked like he was frozen in fear,” she said. “I could see his shoulders shaking.”

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Brett has received praise online for his handling of the situation, while officials are using the opportunity to remind residents to reduce the attractants that draw bears into urban and suburban areas, such as keeping garbage bins clean and locked up.

It’s been an active summer and fall for bears in B.C., particularly in the north. Over an 18-day span in August, B.C. Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) said it received more than 1,200 calls regarding human-bear conflicts in the “Northern Capital.”

The reports led to 21 bears being euthanized. It’s not clear if the black bear recorded in Port Coquitlam has been involved in any other incidents.

Of the 500 black bears killed by B.C. conservation officers last year, about a quarter occurred in eight communities; Prince George, Nelson, Castlegar, Okanagan Falls, Revelstoke, West Kelowna, Nanaimo and Port Alberni.

Earlier this month, a woman in Alberta recounted her own close encounter with a black bear while filming a Pilates workout in Canmore. In that case, too, no one was injured as the woman left the scene with her dog, while the bear wandered into the forest.

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