According to conservation agents, a black bear that was seen in Central Park in Burnaby, BC, chasing geese near a pitch-and-putt field, has been shot.
The bear was caught on Saturday in a video chasing what appeared to be a Canadian goose baby, flanked by squeaky, human geese that disrupted the game of golf.
The bear appears to be rocking the goose in the video, captured by Burnaby resident Mandeep Uppal around 3:40 p.m. Saturday.
Uppal says he had been going to Central Park for years and had never thought a bear would show up. The park is located in the Metrotown area, close to the largest Vancouver Metro regional parks.
MIRAR | Black bear chases geese in Central Park:
A hovering black bear chases geese in British Columbia Park
Video made by Mandeep Uppal shows a bear hunting near a pitch-and-putt field in Central Park in Burnaby, BC
“I’ve been going to Central Park since I was little,” he told CBC News. “I’ve never heard of a bear there.
“I’m not even sure how he got there. That was the real headache.”
Uppal said he was out playing the first hole of the pit-and-putt field when someone said there might be a bear nearby.
“At the time, I was thinking, this person has gone out to lunch,” he said. “There are no bears in Central Park.”
But then he says park staff told them not to play in the first hole because there was a bear nearby.
“People are scratching their heads right now, and we’re just waiting,” he said. “There ‘s no one playing in the first hole, which is where all the geese came into the field.
“A couple of minutes later, they started making a lot of noise and flying. And at that point, I thought, okay, that could be it. I’m going to start recording now.”
After the unfortunate goose brood came to an end in his video, he says the bear jumped into the nearby bushes and trees.
Uppal said it was “very cool” to see a bear up close, but was amazed at the comfort he felt with the people around him.
The BC Conservation Officers Service told CBC News that the bear had been trapped and slaughtered.
Uppal says conservation officers were at the scene when the bear made its appearance in the field, and one of the park workers had told him the bear had been seen in the park a day before the incident.
The bear sighting caused the pitch-and-putt field to be closed for two hours on Saturday.
Uppal said he would return this weekend to resume his game and will be on the lookout for any urine encounters.