Animal Advocates Watchdog
CTV.ca News
Date: Tuesday Apr. 27, 2010 2:55 PM ET
Police in London, Ont. shot and killed a black bear that had wandered into the southwest Ontario city.
People first spotted the bear at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, with about five sightings in total. Two schools were locked down as a precaution.
The fatal shooting occurred about six hours after the initial sighting.
Police thought they had surrounded the bear near the Oxford Street Bridge. It charged an officer and was shot and wounded before fleeing.
About 20 minutes late, police found the animal on the grounds behind a children's centre. They shot the animal again, killing it this time.
Bears are not usually found in the London area.
"Many people do not expect to see black bears in southwestern or much of southern Ontario," reads a Ministry of Natural Resources document.
"Black bears are most commonly found in areas north of Highway 7 (east of Peterborough) and on the Bruce Peninsula," it said, noting there are populations in the northern reaches of York and Durham Region.
Black bears can also be occasionally found above Lake Ontario from Port Perry to Kingston.
In 2008, a black bear wandered around Pickering for about two days before MNR officials tranquilized and removed the animal. In 2005, one wandered into Markham -- about 60 to 70 kilometres south of what is considered to be the southern boundary of black bear country.
With files from The Canadian Press
This undated photo provided by the North American Bear Center shows a black bear named Lily outside of Ely, Minn. (North American Bear Center / Sue Mansfield)
