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Bear and her cub spotted roaming through southwest Calgary neighbourhoods

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CALGARY -

Calgary police want people to keep an eye out for a mama bear and her cub reported wandering through the communities of Cedarbrae and Oakridge early Tuesday morning.

The pair has been spotted in multiple yards along the western edge of the city and toward the Tsuut'ina Nation boundary.

Security cameras captured the bears making their way throught a neighbourhood shortly before 4 a.m.

As residents begin their day, they are asked to be extra careful.

In a statement, Calgary Police Service officials are asking residents to take a look out the window to make sure there's no sign of the bears before heading out the door.

Anyone who does come across the bears is asked to keep their distance and if they can, head inside their vehicle or home.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers were patrolling the area throughout the day trying to locate the bears which were last seen around 5 a.m.

While officers had a live trap on hand, they were hopeful the bears had continued to move on westward along the Elbow River.

"If these bears are moving out, setting traps involves baiting traps as well, so we don't want to bring bears back in if they are on their way out," said Mark Rayment, a district fish and Wildlife officer.

Based on a video believed to be of one of the bears, and a witness report, the animals are believed to be a sow grizzly and an older cub, but officials say they are not positive.

The unusual incursion into a residential neighbourhood is a good reminder for people who live in communities along the city's western edge.

"We did have reports of this bear this morning going into garbage, so, we can't stress enough the need for people to manage attractants," said Rayment.

Attractants can include garbage, pet food, compost or fruit from backyard trees such as crabapple and mountain ash.

Over the past decade grizzlies have increasingly expanded eastwards into places they haven't lived in generations, leading to more calls to fish and wildlife officers.

So far this year at least nine bears have been removed from around the Town of Canmore. The Cochrane Fish and Wildlife office reports that in addition to bears already removed, officers are tracking 13 bears in the zone that have been accessing unnatural food sources.

Further details about bear encounters can be found here.

With files from CTV Calgary's Bill Macfarlane

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