Bear retrieved from backyard tree in Kanata

Conservation officers in Ottawa have retrieved a sleeping bear cub that had been tranquilized while perched on a tree branch, 30 feet above the ground, at a backyard in Kanata.

Ottawa police officers and Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers were called to a home on Equestrian Drive in the Bridlewood neighbourhood early Wednesday morning after the young black bear was spotted in the tree.

The bear was hit with a tranquilizer dart and fell asleep, leaving the challenge of how to get the bear down.

Conservation officers climbed a ladder and tried grabbing the bear's leg and pulling it down. They then tried using a long-poled saw to cut down the branch the bear was resting on, but were unsuccessful.

Finally, a tree climber armed with a chainsaw took down the bear and a sizeable chunk of the tree. The 300-pound bear tumbled down onto a cushion of leaves and branches, and it was then loaded into a cage and transported outside of the city.

Bear sightings have been frequent this spring in the National Capital region.

On Monday night, two people were killed in western Quebec when a car hit a bear crossing Highway 148 and sent the animal through the windshield of an SUV travelling in the opposite direction.