Key Takeaways:
- According to police spokesperson Sean Rocca, officers responded to calls from residents of Amy Crescent at about 8:30 p.m.
- A bear was spotted 1.5 kilometers from Amy Crescent near a children’s play area at Irving Nature Park on Sunday, prompting authorities to issue a bear warning.
- Conservation officers were dispatched before police, according to Rocca, but police arrived first.
Police shot and killed a bear prowling through a residential neighborhood of West Saint John on Monday night.
Officers responded to reports from residents of Amy Crescent at 8:30 p.m., according to police spokesperson Sean Rocca.
According to callers, a black bear was seen strolling across the area, where pedestrians were walking and children were playing.
“They found the bear in someone’s yard and tried to scare it back into the woods, but it was unfazed,” Rocca explained.
According to Rocca, they shot the bear when it started “advancing on the police,” according to Rocca.
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“The cops had no alternative but to put the bear down once the creature was around 10 feet away and continued advancing,” he added.
Amy Crescent is on the outskirts of a neighborhood off Manawagonish Road, bordered on two sides by woodland.
On Sunday, police issued a bear warning after a bear was observed 1.5 kilometers from Amy Crescent near a children’s play area at Irving Nature Park.
Police haven’t been able to establish whether the bear shot was the same one seen Sunday.
Provincial wildlife officers had previously put up a bear trap near the nature park.
According to Nick Brown, a black bear carcass was discovered Tuesday morning by a spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development.
“There’s no way to know if this bear is the one who’s been causing some local nuisance concerns recently,” Brown added.
“Any forested region in the province is a habitat that black bears and other wildlife use or visit; thus, the people should be aware of the likelihood of interactions with wild animals when accessing those areas.”
He didn’t say what might cause a black bear to enter a residential neighborhood.
I couldn’t wait for the wildlife cops to arrive.
Under typical circumstances, Rocca added, provincial wildlife officers from the Department of Natural Resources would be dispatched to Amy Crescent to deal with the matter.
“Unfortunately, DNR could not respond in time before the bear had to be put down in this situation,” he said.
According to Rocca, conservation officers were dispatched before police, but police arrived first.
Police were phoned at 8:28 p.m., arrived at 8:41 p.m., discovered the bear at 8:47 p.m., and shot it a minute later.
“Based on the timeframe, there was little time for other resources to get at the location before the bear became a threat to the safety of others,” he said.
Source: CBC News
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