Bear shot, killed in B.C. yard

COQUITLAM, British Columbia – A black bear that broke into a British Columbia home in search of food was shot and killed Thursday, a day after a woman was attacked in the same neighborhood.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said people at an adjacent golf course saw a large bear entering the house in Coquitlam.

Const. Sharen Leung said when officers arrived, the bear was in the yard eating food it had taken from a kitchen.

She said the officers shot the bear in the shoulder, but it climbed a tree. When conservation officers arrived, they tranquilized the bear, which weighed about 396 pounds, and then RCMP officers shot and killed it.

On Wednesday, a 35-year-old woman was attacked by another bear in the same neighborhood while she was gardening in her yard. The RCMP also shot that animal and the woman was taken to a hospital with a torn scalp and numerous bite wounds.

Kate Thompson of the Environment Ministry said the B.C. Conservation Officer Service has received more than 2,300 calls since April about threatening wildlife in Metro Vancouver, most of which would have been bears. She said conservation officers in the province kill about 700 problem bears a year.