Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 02/98) - It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time that cost a one-year-old bear cub its life last week on Matonabbee Street, said renewable resources officer Philip Liske.

The bear cub, described by eye witnesses as being no bigger than an average-sized dog, had to be put down when it wandered into the residential area and was deemed a threat to citizens.

Liske said it is Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development policy to capture and release stray bears whenever possible.

He said, however, in this particular case, the manpower just wasn't available to follow that procedure.

"Just the week before that we captured a bear and that's what we did, released it back into the wild," said Liske.

"But, there was a lot going on that weekend with the air show and everything and it was hard to get a hold of people, so I was all alone in dealing with the situation."

Liske said he could not confirm eye-witness accounts it took six shots to kill the bear.

Witnesses said Liske fired two shots at the bear while it was still in the bushes and then an RCMP officer fired three more from a police-issue shotgun before Liske fired one last shot to ensure the bear was dead.

"There was a lot of activity there that day, a lot going on," he said.

"I had to concentrate on the bear and the people there. I had to concentrate on the safety aspects.

"I didn't really count how many shots were fired. The last one was just to make sure the bear was dead. It was a very difficult situation."

Brian Lewis was an eye witness to the event and said police had a legitimate concern for people's safety with the situation.

"My question, however, would be why don't they have a tranquillizer gun on-hand at the RCMP detachment?

"There's no doubt the shooting caused a lot of concern in the community. It would have made a lot of people happy to have seen the bear put down and let loose again in the wilds."

Lewis said although people's safety was of prime concern during the incident, he said he was a little taken aback by the official response to the bear's presence.

"They had a big truck there with a bear trap on it and this big lineup of RCMP vehicles," said Lewis.

"They had 'umpteen' people with guns, all ready to deal with this bear."

RCMP Sgt. Marlin Degrand said RCMP officers responded to a complaint of the bear's presence and contained it as best they could until a renewable resource officer arrived on the scene.

"They (renewable resources) made the decision the bear had to be destroyed," said Degrand. "RCMP did assist in putting the animal down."

Degrand confirmed a police-issue shotgun was used by an attending officer, but could not state exactly how many rounds were fired.

He said every precaution would have been taken to try and ensure the bear wouldn't have suffered needlessly.

"It was a public safety issue and we didn't want to take a chance on anyone getting hurt.

"As far as tranquillizing the animal, that's not our mandate. We don't have the equipment or the training for that."