Young bear tranquillized near downtown Kelowna will be relocated

The black bear, which will be ear-tagged, is estimated to be four to five years old, with a weight of 250 pounds.

A young bear will soon be relocated after conservation officers tranquillized it near downtown Kelowna on Friday.

The black bear, which will be ear-tagged, is estimated to be four to five years old and weighs 250 pounds.

Conservation officers tranquillized the bear with two darts while it was in a tree not far from the former McDonald’s restaurant near the W.R. Bennett Bridge.

Sources told Global News that there had been multiple sightings of the bear in the hospital area in the past seven to 10 days.

“We’re trying to do everything to make sure (this bear) stays alive,” said Ken Owens of the Conservation Officer Service, who called this scenario “an extremely rare” survival incident.

The province has a line and website — Report All Poachers and Polluters — that the public can contact for wildlife sightings in urban areas.

WildSafe BC also has plenty of information on bear sightings and what to do.

“By calling the RAPP line, it puts sightings on our radar,” said Owens. “And then we have a WildSafe BC coordinator who can maybe do some prevention education to ensure we’re all doing the right thing.”