Kelowna woman comes ‘face to face’ with black bear in her backyard

If Jenifer Calhoun’s coffee this morning didn’t wake her up, there’s a good chance her first steps into the backyard this afternoon did.

It was around 12:30 pm that Calhoun went to let her two dogs into the yard at her home in the Hall Road area of Southeast Kelowna, near the Mission Creek Landing retirement home.

She tells KelownaNow that she took a couple steps down her patio stairs and came “face to face” with a black bear.

Looking back, Calhoun says it was a cool experience, but in the moment she understandably screamed and dropped her phone.

Her reaction sent the seemingly friendly bear scurrying over the fence and out of her yard.

A Kelowna woman says she came "face to face" with a black bear as she went to let her two dogs out in the backyard in the Hall Road area!

Jenifer Calhoun tells us she screamed and dropped her phone, which sent the bear scurrying over the fence and out of her yard.

She's… pic.twitter.com/zHnXhZp0M5

— KelownaNow (@KelownaNow) September 19, 2024

Calhoun says she talked to a neighbour about the encounter and neither of them have ever seen a bear exploring yards in the area.

However, she wanted to share the video to ensure that nearby residents, especially those who let their pets outside unattended, were aware of the bear’s presence.

There’s a good chance the bear is making its way to Mission Creek to try and catch some spawning salmon for dinner.

Local officials have warned about the increased presence of bears at this time of year, as they fill up on spawning salmon and ripening fall fruit before hunkering down for the winter.