Owen Sound police say they received an unusual call this morning about a bear in town.
They say their officers helped the Ministry of Natural Resources respond to a call about two-year-old female bear who climbed up a tree on 14th St West near the Salvation Army building and stayed there for more than five hours.
Police say, “She took a bit of a tumble coming down, but we’re happy to report that her vital signs are strong and she’s expected to be just fine.”
Police say the bear is being taken to a rural location where she will be released.
Meanwhile, others have posted videos of bears out and about locally. One was posted on the weekend walking up 29th Street West in Owen Sound. 29th street West ends at a large forested area which was the direction it was heading in.
Depending on the behaviour of the bear, the Ontario government says for non-emergency encounters you can call the toll-free Bear Wise reporting line at 1-866-514-2327 or TTY 705-945-7641. This can be used if a bear roams around or checks garbage cans, breaks into a shed where garbage or food is stored, is in a tree, pulls down a bird feeder or knocks over a barbecue, moves through a backyard or field but does not linger.
That line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from April 1 to November 30. Calling it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get an MNRF person out to the site.
The government says to call 911 or your local police if a bear poses an immediate threat to personal safety and exhibits threatening or aggressive behaviour, or if it enters a school yard when school is in session, stalks people and lingers at the site, enters or tries to enter a residence, wanders into a public gathering, kills livestock/pets and lingers at the site.
