A mother grizzly bear and her two cubs have been shot and killed while feeding on garbage on the deck of a mobile home near Nelson in southeastern B.C.

The man who lived in the trailer told authorities he felt his family was threatened, so he shot the bears through an open window.

The cubs died near the trailer. Their mother ran into the woods, and is also believed to have died.

Conservationists say their deaths are a serious loss to the South Selkirk grizzly population, which is not doing well.

"This particular population has not got a lot of animals. The estimate is 60 animals total, and in that one event we lost a breeding female and two cubs, one of which is a female," said Joanne Siderius of the B.C. Conservation Foundation's Bear Aware program.

The B.C. Wildlife Act allows people to shoot bears, if they feel threatened. But Siderius said people living in traditional bear habitats could avoid that by keeping their food and garbage inside.

"If you don't want the bear on your deck, you don't put bear food on your deck. And maybe this particular family wasn't aware that garbage and pet food and freezers can attract bears."