New Brunswick RCMP say a black bear was reported wandering through downtown Moncton on Friday night.

Police received calls that the bear had been spotted around Main Street.

“We looked for a while and couldn't find it and left the area and around 12:15 last night I got a call that the bear had treed himself just off of Mountain Road,” said Daniel Michaud with the Department of Natural Resources.

The 160 pound black bear was in someone's backyard.

Michaud said when he arrived the animal was in a tree, six metres off the ground.

He said he considered tranquilizing the bear, but it "takes a while for the drugs to take effect. In the situation we were there, there was no possible way we could control the area to keep him there if we did tranquilize him."

Michaud said a decision was made to shoot and kill the bear. He said it was high enough in the tree that shooting at it wouldn’t endanger the surrounding homes.

“That was the best option that we found. If he came down again, where he'd go we weren't sure. We, because of public safety, decided at that time to dispatch the bear.“

Michaud said it appears the bear was looking for food and had become accustomed to residential areas.