The lazy habits of residents who leave their garbage outside cost at least one bruin its life last month.

A mother bear who had two cubs was shot by conservation officers after it began hanging around 121A Avenue and 232nd Street.

The bear had been relocated from residential areas in North Vancouver in 2006 but ventured back this year to civilization and a steady supply of garbage from homes in Maple Ridge, said B.C. conservation officer Terry Myroniuk.

Meanwhile, it had brought two cubs into the world who were also learning mom's scavenging ways.

"We did get reports of her showing aggression so she wasn't a good relocation candidate," Myroniuk said Wednesday.

"We did have reports of her bluff charging. She actually startled a resident who was coming out of his house."

The bear, which had become active at night while it hid out in a ravine during the day, was also lurking around a school.

On Dec. 2, officers managed to capture it and took it to a different spot where it was shot.

It's two female cubs, born that spring, were taken to Critter Care Wildlife Society, a volunteer group in Langley.

They've since been named Willow and Maple and will be released into the wild this spring with four other orphaned cubs.

The mama bear's misfortune is a fate that's possible for more than a dozen bears in east Maple Ridge who have stayed up instead of finding comfortable places to sleep for the winter.

The warm climate and ready food source, mainly garbage, keep them awake, said Myroniuk.

However, the latest cold snap in late December seems to have sent them a message.

"The good news is it looks like the last cold snap has pushed the last stragglers out." Most likely, they have found spots underneath logs or a root wads, to spend the colder months. Bears though can get up during their sleep.

"It's not abnormal to see bears this time of year," said Myroniuk.

The past summer has been a good year with call volume about human-bear conflicts, "down significantly," he said.

He said any steps by municipalities to reduce access to garbage will reduce bears' interaction with people, which will spare them having to be relocated or shot.

But some people still leave out their garbage or in the winter, put out bird feeders, another powerful attraction for bears.

Some residents even do so they can watch the animals rummaging around.

"Some people are entertained by it. It just comes down to really ignorance, and lack of responsibility when it gets to that extreme."