A North Vancouver black bear that hitched a ride on a garbage truck to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre was bundled off to Squamish Tuesday to be released back into the wild.
The 40-kilogram bruin caused a stir downtown Monday afternoon when it was spotted on top of the open-top waste transport in the bustling 600-block of Cambie Street. The animal had apparently clambered on board as the vehicle was making a stop in North Vancouver. Police descended on the area, cordoning off the street and ushering curious onlookers to a safe distance while wildlife control rushed to the scene.
I got a call from our dispatcher saying there was a bear on Cambie Street at West Georgia. . . . I thought it might have been a joke, said Alex Desjardins, the officer from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service who responded to the incident.
But no, sure enough, I showed up and there was a huge perimeter set up, probably 40 to 50 police officers, hundreds of people all with their smartphones out and a bear on top of a dump truck.
It took Desjardins two attempts to sedate the bear, which remained on top of the truck throughout before he lowered it carefully to the ground where it was loaded into a pickup. He transported the animal to the BC Parks compound at the base of Mount Seymour in North Vancouver where it was checked out and tagged before being taken on to Squamish for release Tuesday.
A video of the animals capture soon made its way onto Youtube, and the tag #downtownbear was trending on Twitter Monday and Tuesday afternoon.
Its not clear exactly where the bear hitched the ride from, said Desjardins, but he strongly suspected it came from North Vancouver. More than one witness insisted the animal had got into the truck from a dumpster that had come out of the nearby theatres basement, he said, but he doubts that account.
Anything is possible, but my question is: How could he have made it to that dumpster undetected? said Desjardins.
The service said the bear was in good health, and that with help from colleagues in Squamish they had identified a suitable area for its release. Officers will monitor it after it is set free, but it will be left alone unless it becomes a problem, they said.
He has no previous history with the conservation officer service, said spokesman Dave Cox.
The call was a first for Desjardins, although he noted he had had to capture a hapless deer outside Waterfront Station in 2009, and had dealt with a black bear under the wooden roller coaster at Playland about four years ago.
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