Vancouver police and conservation officers have tranquilized and captured a black bear that was wandering around in an East Vancouver neighbourhood.

Police received reports of a bear in the area of East 49th Avenue and Tyne Street Tuesday morning, and it moved south toward East 52nd. The bear was finally captured in a residents backyard in the 1100-block of 53rd Avenue at Inverness Street.

Conservation officer Chris Doyle said it is very rare to see a bear in the city of Vancouver, and he’s not sure where it came from. “The bear may have swam across a body of water and then went through different parks unnoticed,” he said.

He said there’s a “chronic problem” with bears in neighbourhoods on the North Shore and in the Tri-Cities area. He blamed the problem mainly on residents leaving out unsecured garbage, recycling and compost.

He said conservation officers will make a decision what to do with the bear based on the animal’s health and level of conflict.

On Sunday a female black bear wandered into the sports field at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam. Conservation officers said the bear, estimated to be about three years old, became frightened and climbed a tree across from the Coquitlam Town Centre Fire Hall, where it stayed until conservation officers tranquilized it with the help of firefighters and a ladder truck.

It’s expected the bear will be moved somewhere in the woods near natural food sources.

ticrawford@vancouversun.com

With files from Tri-Cities News

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