A black bear had to be shot Tuesday night after it was hit by a car on the Mary Hill Bypass in Port Coquitlam near Pitt River Road.
"The bear was in really bad shape. It was the only humane thing to do," said Const. Jamie Phillipson who said the RCMP got the call around 11:30 p.m. by a driver of one of the cars that hit the bear who called 911. The first car that struck the black bear left the scene.
The B.C. Conservation Officer service and city bylaws typically handle bear complaints but Phillipson said police had to shoot the bear because conservation officers were too far away when the call came in.
Police have been receiving many calls about black bears of late and he urged people to lock up their garbage and get rid of bear attractants.
