Conservation officers debriefing after sedated bear fell from tree
Conservation officers considered using a forklift to remove a sedated black bear from a tree in Saskatoon’s north end before the animal tumbled out of its perch and fell several metres to the ground, a conservation officer said.
The bear, which was spotted in a tree in the 2900 block of Miners Avenue on Tuesday morning, was later euthanized because it suffered from capture myopathy, a non-infectious disease wild animals can suffer if they experience stress when captured or handled.
Rich Hildebrand, a provincial conservation officer, said officers who responded to the call about the bear are debriefing about the incident and will talk about the best ways to get errant bears out of trees in the future, if such a situation arises again.
While some have suggested tarps or something similar could have been used to catch the bear, Hildebrand said such a move could have put people at risk if the tranquillizer had not completely taken effect.
“The bear may come out of that and may become angry and aggressive, and so we’ve got safety issues to consider,” he said.
Former conservation officer Douglas Clark, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s school of environment and sustainability, said in an ideal situation the area around the bear would have been cordoned off and the animal would have been allowed to come down from the tree on its own volition.
“An uncontrolled fall can be dangerous, just as it would be for a person, and that’s something to be avoided if at all possible,” he said.
Neither Hildebrand nor Clark can remember conservation officers having to remove a black bear from Saskatoon’s city limits before. Both said it’s difficult to say whether the city can expect more of these occurrences as its borders continue to expand.
“If we see more, then maybe we’re going to have to start thinking more proactively as a city about attractant control, but I don’t think we’re at that point yet,” Clark said.