This is the courageous moment two pet dogs confront a family of grizzly bears rummaging for food in a backyard storage shed in Canada.
Marjie Whitehead of Whitecourt, Alberta, was watering plants in her greenhouse when she spotted the hungry bears and raced to safety last Saturday.
She tried to call her two pets dogs inside but they ignored her, insisting on protecting the family home from the furry invaders.
In footage from the encounter, the bears can be seen eating dog food in the root cellar, as the dog’s bark and edge closer to them.
Three hungry grizzly bears (above) raided a family’s root cellar in Whitecourt, Alberta. They started eating dog food after breaking in
Marjie Whitehead’s two dogs decided to take on the grizzly bears and defend their home (left). The bears seemed unfazed by the dogs but at times stood on their hind legs (right) and gave chase
The two dogs (above) who were smaller than the bears gave chase, barking and tried to approach the grizzly bears. Whitehead believes they were trying to defend the property
In the clip, which has been viewed more than 12,200 times, Whitehead can be heard getting increasingly distressed as she worries for her dogs’ safety.
‘I tried but they won’t listen to me,’ she repeats multiple times. ‘I tried to get them up on the top deck but they just won’t listen.’
Her husband, who is on the other end of the phone, said: ‘I don’t know what to do. You keep yourself safe.’
This provokes even more fear into Whitehead, who yells: ‘They’re going to come after the dogs.’
Later she is heard saying she has to get her gun before the 51-second video ends.
Whitehead wrote online that despite firing two warning shots into the air, the bears were unfazed and continued to eat through supplies.
They only left after a neighbor Sean Gurnsey drove his vehicle towards them, which she says ‘scared them somewhat.’
The three bears were spotted heading to the root cellar (above) by Whitehead while she was watering plants in her greenhouse. Later she tried to call them in but the dogs didn’t listen to her
After breaking into the cellar, Whitehead’s dogs tried to fight the three bears
Both he and his son also fired additional shots, which allowed their daughter Alannah to rescue the dogs.
‘They were so unconcerned with the noise and with the dogs… [they] weren’t afraid of anything,’ he told CBC Radio Canada.
But two hours later after heading to a nearby creek the bears returned.
They left paw prints on the side of Whitehead’s house and causing damaged to the property.
Whitehead wrote: ‘They came back… leaving their paw prints on the side of our house and breaking the corner trim of our siding.
‘As well as tearing up the ground around our root cellar. I’ve been shivery all day!’
Whitehead and Gurnsey have spotted multiple grizzly and black bears around their properties this year.
She told CBC: ‘This is the first time we’ve seen that in 29 years. So it’s very unnerving right now.
‘We’re kind of all on edge out here. All of the neighbors have seen these bears.
‘They’ve been up on people’s decks, they’ve been in people’s yards.’
After Whitehead’s neighbor was able to scare off the bears, they returned two hours later and began to damage the ground near to the cellar (above)
Whitehouse also said the bears left paw prints on the side of her house and damaged part of her property
Alberta Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Ina Lucila told the site that towns, cities and urban space like these are becoming a natural habitat for wildlife.
She told CBC: ‘So it is not uncommon for residents to see wildlife in our communities.
‘Especially at this time of year, bears are looking for food to fatten up before hibernation.’
Officers from the agency captured three bears on Wednesday morning after laying traps.
They haven’t been able to confirm whether they are the same bears found on the Whitehead property.
Now they will determine whether the bears need to be put down for public safety CBC reported.
Lucila said: ‘Having a grizzly bear in an urban area is a serious public safety concern, especially when the animal is not shy of humans or willingly approaches them.
‘Bears that show this sort of behavior are at an increased risk to injure or kill someone.
‘For these reasons, officers may have to make the difficult choice to put a bear down to prevent future public safety problems.’