Wrong bear killed by RCMP after girl attacked in Maple Ridge, B.C.

Officials say they are still searching for the black bear that attacked a three-year-old girl in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Sunday, after confirming a bear RCMP killed wasn't the one that did it.

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service said the young girl was playing on the deck in her family's back yard when the attack happened. One of her parents intervened and chased the animal away.

Maple Ridge RCMP said what they believed was the bear returned to the area several times that day while police were on site and officers shot it "to protect public safety" after it showed signs of aggression.

The bear was recovered and a necropsy was performed on it, according to the Ministry of Environment and Parks, which showed it hadn't been the bear responsible for the attack.

The girl was taken to hospital with non-life-altering injuries, according to RCMP.

A B.C. Conservation Officer Service predator attack team is still on site and the public is asked to avoid the area.

Wildlife veterinarian Ken Macquisten said he wasn't surprised to hear the wrong bear was killed.

He said police officers aren't trained in bear behaviour like conservation officers are, and that the caliber of bullets they use generally won't kill a bear on first shot.

"They are more likely to injure the bear than to kill it," he said. "That presents a real problem in itself because an injured bear, of course, is a more dangerous bear than a bear that's not injured."

Bear that attacked B.C. girl still on the loose after wrong bear killed | Hanomansing Tonight

Lesley Fox, executive director of wildlife conservation group The Fur-Bearers, said while urgency matters in these kinds of situations, so does identification.

"We really need to make good decisions under pressure and having proper evidence, following a scientific method and ensuring that we are dealing with the specific individual animal."

Fox said police are not equipped to tranquilize wild animals, or contain them, long enough for conservation officers to arrive.

Both Macquisten and Fox said more conservation officers are needed so they can be the ones to respond to wildlife calls.