A bear was tranquilized after it was wandering near downtown Regina Monday morning.
The bear was first spotted in the 2500 block of Wallace Street, said Staff Sgt. Jason Gunderson with the Regina police.
Then the small, cinnamon-coloured black bear made its way to Victoria Avenue and Montreal Street, near Thomson Community School, where it climbed a tree.
Police officers, firefighters and conservation officers were at the scene around 6:30 a.m. CST.
After the bear was tranquilized, it was loaded into a truck and will be transported to the Fort Qu’Appelle area later today, CBC News was told at the scene.
Regina resident Christopher Wesaquate saw what appears to have been the same bear earlier, around 3 a.m. CST Monday, when he was driving home on Ring Road in south Regina.
“It was running to the University of Regina so I pulled over and recorded the bear, then I drove to the U of R and the bear was walking around the university,” he said.
It’s about four and a half kilometres from the university to the area where the bear was tranquilized.
According to Saskatchewan Environment, black bears are generally found throughout the province’s northern forests and parkland, and in isolated areas of suitable habitat.
“Black bears are often secretive and generally avoid people. However, as exceptionally food-motivated animals they may wander into areas people frequent in search of food, especially in years where natural food sources are limited,” the ministry says on its website.
