Momma Bear and Tiny Cubs Try to Navigate Neighborhood

Occurred on April 11, 2023 / Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada

Info from Licensor: I went to the bush today to hang trail cameras, with the hope of getting some bear pictures/videos. Spring has finally sprung after a long winter and the bears are emerging from their winter dens. Returning home just after noon, my wife was sitting on the living room couch, when a bear strolled past the front window. This was quite unexpected as this is in a residential area of town. Looking outside I saw that momma bear had 2 very small cubs trailing behind her. I grabbed my cell phone and went to the side bedroom and then saw the trio approaching the fence separating my house and the neighbors. Momma bear scaled the fence quickly and easily and dropped into the neighbor's yard. I uttered a curse of amazement and an unintelligible statement. Her 2 cubs were stymied by the fence and began crying for mom to return. She climbed back up over the fence and stood on it for a couple of moments and I snapped off a couple of still shots while my wife frantically called the neighbor. The cubs then managed to squeeze under my gate and into my backyard where they became stuck for the next 5.5 hours, despite myself opening the gates on both sides of the house. The drama ensued with mom scaling the fence numerous times and her babies squealing for her return. At a point, all 3 had a lengthy sleep in my backyard pine tree. Mom could not figure out how to exit with her cubs. Finally, just after 6 PM she figured it out and the 3 of them departed through the gate that they had entered.