Fogo Island isn't equipped to tranquilize polar bears, says officer
Not enough time to send officers from Gambo to tranquilize bear
The closest officer able to drug instead of kill a polar bear that RCMP shot on Fogo Island was in Gambo, says a conservation officer.
RCMP first tried scaring the 226 kilogram, eight-foot-tall polar bear by firing shots into the air, but the bear charged towards officers and a few dozen members of the public.
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"The decision was made based on the threat to the safety of the individuals around us that we would shoot the bear on scene," RCMP Cpl. Shaun Coady told CBC News Monday.
Coady said the resources needed to tranquillize a bear are not available on Fogo Island.
"No, it's not even a resource that's available on the island," said Coady. "There is no person or wildlife officer, conservation officer on the island who has that equipment."
According to conservation officer Laurie Holloway, the closest wildlife officer who would be able to drug the animal is based in Gambo.
Given the situation in Deep Bay this week, that wasn't close enough.
"We wouldn't have had time to get there to chemically immobilize the animal to move it," said Holloway.
"It was a risk to human safety so it had to be dispatched at that time."
In 2008, a polar bear was tranquillized and later relocated after being spotted on Fogo Island.
The RCMP say a polar bear is spotted on Fogo Island once or twice a year. This one was medium sized, 100 meteres from a house. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBCnl?src=hash">#CBCnl</a>
—@ChrisEnsingCBC"We did have time that we were able to go and chemically immobilize and it was officers from [Gambo] that went and did that," said Holloway.
"In that case they would fly in and chemically immobilize the animal in that situation when we do have time to do that."
Holloway said there wasn't enough time to send officers to Deep Bay.
Polar bears on Fogo Island
Tracks from a polar bear were spotted on Fogo Island in January 2016 and there were reports of a polar bear in the same area in 2015.
- Polar bear tracks spotted on Fogo Island
- Keep calm and don't approach the polar bear: Tips from a conservation officer
There have been seven complaints of polar bears in the Fogo Island area since 2008, according to a spokesperson with Department of Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.
Two officers were sent to Fogo Island this week to retrieve the dead polar bear.
It's expected the animal will be used for research purposes.