Officials from the territorial government’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) have destroyed a bear near Fort Liard, not far from where a man’s body was found last Wednesday.
It is still unclear whether a bear is responsible for the man’s death.
His body has been sent to Edmonton for an autopsy to try to determine a cause of death.
CKLB is not naming the man who was from the area and had a cabin nearby.
According to Meagan Wohlberg, spokesperson for ENR, officers responded to a report of a possible human-bear encounter on Wednesday evening in coordination with RCMP.
“Renewable Resource Officers located and destroyed a bear, but operations continue in the event that there could be multiple bears,” Wohlburg stated in an email. “Officers in the Dehcho Region continue to advise members of the public to avoid the Big Creek area on the trail to Bovie Lake at this time, and will advise the public once the operation has been completed.”
Wohlberg hasn’t said exactly how the bear was put down or whether officers tried to trap it first.
She does add that ENR is reminding people to be “bear aware,” to inform others of travel plans and itineraries when on the land, and to contact ENR if they have wildlife concerns.