A rural family that lost several chickens during recent appearances by a grizzly bear has received some shocking assistance from Alberta Environment and Parks.

The Fitzgeralds, who live outside Cochrane, returned home a few weeks ago to a damaged chicken coop and no sign of their six chickens. The family replaced the fowl but the return of the chickens prompted the return of the likely culprit, and Elisha Fitzgerald successfully recorded the intrusion.

In the past, Elisha Fitzgerald witnessed black bears investigating the chicken coop but the grizzly was the first bruin to attempt a break-in.

“We’ve had black bears come through,” recalls Fitzgerald. “They’ve stood up on the cage. They’ve scratched at the top but they’ve always passed on.”

“This is the first time that we’ve had a grizzly encounter in the four years that we’ve had our backyard chickens.”

To protect the Fitzgerald’s chickens, Alberta Environment and Parks has loaned the family an electric fence. The fence will deliver a memorable shock but the grizzly will suffer no physical harm.

“(Bears) pass through all the time. This is their home, there's no doubt about that,” said Elisha Fitzgerald. “As we move into their homeland, I think we just need to make wiser choices and be more bear smart because unfortunately it can end in a devastating way for both our livestock and for the bear.”

Over the last few years, the province has loaned electric fences to private land owners to help resolve bear issues.

Jay Honeyman, a human-wildlife conflict specialist, says it comes as no surprise that the number of reported bear encounters is on the rise as humans encroach into forested areas.

“The reality is there's a lot of new communities sprouting up” explains Honeyman. “With that eastern migration of grizzly bears, we're on a collision course.”

The fences, which cost approximately $1,000 and take hours to install, are expected to protect chickens while motivating bears to pursue natural sources of food.

“If we can bear proof some of these areas, we remove the property damage issue, remove the public safety concern and we're not having to move or euthanize bears.”

“It's kind of a win, win, win for everybody.”

For additional information on bear proofing and tips for being bear smart, visit  Alberta BearSmart

With files from CTV's Kevin Fleming