A bear that was shot Monday in the Wellington Park area of Port Coquitlam had become habituated to human food sources and was reportedly aggressive toward people.
Denny Chretien, a member of the B.C. Conservation Office, told The Tri-City News that the service had received dozens of calls about the animal in the last month. The bruin was extremely comfortable around humans, he said, and had been feasting on garbage found in the neighbourhood.
"She got herself in a bit of trouble getting into garbage and feeding on non-natural food sources," he said. "Her level of comfort was a little too high in public safety terms. It was really unfortunate."
The bear was female and had been found in a tree in the cemetery on Oxford Street when officers made the decision to shoot the animal.
Chretien said that many of the reports the conservation office received in the last month were likely related to this bear. He said it had been seen eating trash and was also known to follow people.
All bear sightings should be reported by calling the Provincial Conservation Office's 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952-RAPP or by going to www.rapp.bc.ca.
