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A black bear sniffed out the Brazilian BBQ on Main Street in Canmore today. It was swiftly told to leave by staff. The bear left without incident. 🐻🍴#canmore #banff #lakelouise #bowvalleynetwork#hungrybear#blackbear

🤳@brazilianbbq pic.twitter.com/7IivbzDL3O — Bow Valley Network (@BowValleyNetwrk) July 8, 2019

After going inside the restaurant at a healthy trot, surveillance video posted by the restaurant shows the bear lingering for about five seconds before turning around and going back outside.

Holub said the bruin returned to longingly peer in a window before leaving empty-pawed.

RCMP Cpl. Sabrina Clayton said Mounties and provincial Fish & Wildlife officers responded to reports of the roaming bear early Sunday evening and were able to safely coax it into returning to the brush surrounding the town.

“He wasn’t showing any signs of bad behaviour,” said Clayton, noting the bear was “not that big,” and showed no signs of aggression. “The poor thing ended up more scared than anything.”

Clayton said RCMP advised members of the public to stay inside while they worked to corral the bear, with most primarily concerned that the young bruin would be destroyed. She said while rare, it’s not unprecedented for bears to become disoriented and wander into the townsite.

According to the province, Fish & Wildlife officers are investigating the incident and trying to determine the identify of the bear, whose age and sex aren’t known.

A spokesperson said anyone who encounters a bear or other wildlife that poses a potential public safety concern can report the incident to the 24-hour Report A Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800.

“While the Town of Canmore is located within a wildlife corridor with designated areas for wildlife, having a large animal enter a populated urban area can be a serious public safety concern, especially when the animal is not shy of humans and willingly approaches them,” Alberta Justice said in a statement.