Updated: Tue May. 20 2008 17:40:16

ctvbc.ca

A bear cub's unlikely run through Vancouver Saturday night ended Sunday morning when it was captured by conservation officers.

Hours after the 80-pound bear had been spotted near the PNE fairgrounds and hit by a car, the one-and-a-half-year-old cub was shot with a dart and handcuffed at a home on Franklin Street, said conservation officer Jack Trudgian.

"We got a call saying there's a bear in the backyard," Trudgian told CTV News. "I thought, 'It must be something else.'"

Trudgian went to the house, and climbed to the second story, where he aimed a tranquilizer gun at the bear.

"When I darted it, it climbed up the fence, and then he fell back where it was," he said. "We put it in the back of the truck and handcuffed it."

The bear hadn't eaten anything or drank any water for over a day, and there were some injuries on the bear's back legs, said Trudgian.

The bear has been taken to Critter Care, a facility where it will be checked out by a veterinarian.

"It's a healthy bear and we think it can survive in the wilderness," said Trudgian. "If it's injured in a way it can't survive, we'll have to destroy it. It's not popular but that's reality."

Just after midnight, police officers received a phone call from a bus driver, who noticed the bear wander into the PNE grounds.

But when police arrived, there was no sign of it, said Chapman.

A few hours later, the bear was struck by a car at Lakewood and Dundas. The bear was probably not injured in the collision, he said.

"It took off running and disappeared southbound," Vancouver Police Inspector Bob Chapman told CTV News. "It's a smaller bear, perhaps even a cub."

While bears are a regular occurrence in North Vancouver, it's very rare to see a bear make it all the way into Vancouver, said Trudgian.

"There are only two options -- it could have swam across (Burrard) Inlet and came from North Van," said Trudgian. "Or it could have come down from Burnaby Mountain where there are bears.

"It probably got lost, scared, and didn't know what to do," Trudgian added.

The bear is a yearling, which means that it would have been recently asked to leave its mother's company, said Barbara Murray of Bear Matters B.C.

"Let's hope they relocate it far away from other people," said Murray. "There should be lots of food this time of year. Give it a second chance."

Simple steps to keep bears off your property and out of the city:

• Leave your garbage inside until pickup date.
• Don't leave pet dishes outside.
• Keep bird feeders out of reach of bears.
• Clean your barbecues after use.
• If you have a fruit tree pick all ripe and fallen fruit daily.

If you see a bear, remain calm, and don't panic. Bring children and pets indoors. Warn others and call a conservation officer at 1-877-952-7227.