North Vancouver RCMP shot and killed a black bear in Lower Lonsdale after residents called 911

The Story

North Vancouver RCMP shot and killed a black bear in Lower Lonsdale early Tuesday morning after it made its way around First Street and Lonsdale Avenue, where residents spotted it and called 911.

Const. Paul Reece said it was not a normal occurrence to have black bears in areas as heavily populated as the City of North Van and Lower Lonsdale, and he said the bear appeared to be eating from nearby garbage bins. When Reece approached the bear, he said it showed no sign of fear.

Reece said officers believed euthanizing the bear was the most appropriate course of action for public safety due to recent incidents in the Lower Mainland involving contact between bears and humans that resulted in injuries. He said officers would prefer to use less lethal options such as chalk rounds or hazing the bear away, but in this case there was no safer place for it to retreat to, and he said tranquilizing and relocating bears can be difficult, dangerous and only temporary.

Reece also noted that bears often return to the same part of town, including the exact same garbage can. After the shooting, the RCMP turned the bear’s body over to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) for ceremonial and cultural purposes. Reece said residents have a responsibility to make sure they are not attracting bears to their property, echoing a plea from the North Shore Black Bear Society to remove attractants, including garbage and tree fruit.

The society said the increase in bear activity follows a bad berry crop in the forest that sent bears looking for other food sources, and it warned that bears were making their way deeper into urban neighbourhoods. It also said this was the fourth bear killed on the North Shore in 2026, after other bears were shot by conservation officers in West Vancouver following altercations with pets or after pushing into homes or sheds.