A Metro Vancouver neighbourhood is on edge Monday as conservation officers continue their efforts to locate and destroy a bear that attacked a three-year-old girl in her backyard. The toddler underwent surgery after being airlifted from Maple Ridge to B.C. Children’s Hospital Sunday and is expected to make a full recovery. Conservation Officer Jordan Ferguson said trapping and relocating a bear in a case like this is not an option. “When bears exhibit this aggressive behavior and when someone is injured, that is usually the outcome, the bear is destroyed,” he told reporters Sunday evening. “We do have a majority of the officers that are stationed in Lower Mainland here dealing with this right now. So, there is a lot of manpower out there to try to get this dealt with.” The RCMP was also called to the scene Sunday after the attack, and an officer shot a black bear. However, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said Monday that a necropsy has confirmed the animal was “not the offending black bear.” The public is being asked to avoid the area where the child was attacked, which is around 240 Street and 123 Avenue, while conservation officers continue the search. The three-year-old girl’s mom, Andrea Lekei, said her daughter suffered lacerations and puncture wounds to her back, neck and head. The little girl’s dad fought the bear off and ultimately shot it with a compound bow he retrieved from the garage. “He was acting as a dad, right?” Ferguson said, asked to comment on the dramatic and potentially life-saving intervention. “I think any parent put in that situation, your adrenaline goes up, and you just kind of act.” ‘Absolutely terrifying’ Lekei, along with others who live in the neighbourhood, said the attack was a shocking departure from the behaviour black bears typically display when spotted in the area. “They don’t bother us. They are easily shooed away,” she said. “They’ve never, ever, come that close to our house and up onto our patio.” Brian Cudby said black bears are “everywhere,” but echoed Lekei in saying they usually avoid humans, making what happened Sunday “quite concerning,” particularly given the number of kids in the area and the proximity of the attack to a school. For Sarah Cuff, who has a four-year-old, news of the attack was “absolutely terrifying.” Like her neighbours, she said sightings are common but that the attack on the child has her rethinking how vigilant she needs to be. “I don’t want it to limit my ability to go outside and spend time in the wilderness, but I definitely need to be prepared and aware,” she said. The conservation officer service is urging residents to report all bear sightings by calling 1-877-952-7277. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kraig Krause
