CALGARY — A mother black bear that wandered into a British Columbia pharmacy with her cub has been euthanized by conservation officers, despite the animals reportedly causing no damage during their unexpected trip through the store.The incident happened Sunday afternoon at a Pharmasave on Wallace Street in Hope, where employees were stunned to discover the sow and her cub wandering through the aisles.Video shared online showed the two bears moving through the store, including the cosmetics section, before eventually leaving.Pharmasave employee Kara Kelso told Global News that staff focused first on getting customers safely out of the store after someone spotted the bear. The bears reportedly spent only several minutes inside before walking back outside, there were no reports of injuries or damage resulting from the encounter..However, the incident took a more serious turn after conservation officers arrived.According to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, officers responded at approximately 2 p.m. Sunday after receiving a report of a sow and cub inside the store.By the time officers arrived, the bears were outside the pharmacy and in a nearby residential neighbourhood. Both bears were safely tranquilized and assessed.The Conservation Officer Service said the adult female was confirmed to be the same bear that had entered the store and had a ''history of conflicts in the area.'' The sow was subsequently euthanized over public-safety concerns.“Bears that learn to associate people with food, frequent populated areas and enter homes or stores are not candidates for relocation or rehabilitation, due to the risk to public safety,” the Conservation Officer Service said in a statement.The cub has now been released into the wild.Lydia Koot, chair of the Hope Mountain Black Bear Committee, described the outcome as “really sad” in comments reported by Today in Canada..Koot said bears in the area have been facing limited food availability and may be turning toward communities where food sources such as fruit trees and garbage can be found.The incident has also renewed attention on the role human food sources can play in bear conflicts.WildSafeBC says hundreds of bears are killed in British Columbia each year following conflicts with people, with many conflicts beginning after bears gain access to non-natural food sources such as garbage.The RCMP advises residents to avoid approaching bears and to leave them an escape route. Bears seen roaming through yards, trails or other areas without displaying threatening behaviour should generally be left alone, while aggressive or threatening bears should be reported to the Conservation Officer Service.
