This stuff makes me so mad. It's the last line of the article that says it all - the bears are attracted to the area because people are leaving food or garbage out. It's so tragic that the bears wind up being destroyed because of human carelessness and ignorance.
I spent many years as a naturalist in BC Parks trying to educate people about this issue, so I guess I don't have much of a sense of humour about it.
But... You are right - it would be quite a shock!
Actually, when I was a child, we lived out in the countryside in the West Kootenays and one night my dad woke up hearing something on our front porch (it was enclosed with a front door). There was a big shaggy thing on the porch eating the cat's food. Dad thought it was the neighbour's St. Bernard that had somehow pushed the door open and yelled at it to go home. It didn't budge, so he went found the light switch and flicked it on to find himself staring at a black bear!
We moved the cat food.
