The bear had been living in town for 2 or 3 days, gorging itself upon overly ripe apples which had fallen from a tree located behind a vacant house. To the right of this vacant house lived a family with a young daughter of 7 or 8 years. When not gorging apples, the bear rested and slept at the back of a vacant lot located to the left of the vacant house or two lots to the left of their home.

To make matters worse, immediately in front of the vacant house was an extremely large willow tree which sheltered a bus stop where children were picked up and dropped off during school days. On a number of occasions the bear was observed high in the branches this tree ... napping in between apple excursions.

When I first discovered the bear it was resting in the shadows at the back of the vacant lot ... glancing my way from time-to-time ... but not overly concerned. To photograph the bear it was necessary to dismount from the motorcycle and walk partially into the vacant lot so as to be in a position to shoot through the brush ... I opted to keep the motorcycle running ... just in case.

It only took a couple shots to realize flash was required to offset the lack of light in the shadows ... and all seemed to be going well ... until flash shot number two when the bear emitted a deep guttural growl to let me know it wasn't that happy with my presence and I departed ... after 2 or 3 more shots ...

Sadly, a day or two later we learned that attempts by Conservation Officer(s) to relocate the bear were unsuccessful and it was 'put down' ...