Wildlife Hitchhiker? Bear Rides Garbage Truck Through Vancouver

Bear tranquilized after ride into Vancouver via garbage truck

That's right, you heard me correctly. A year-old black bear caught a ride in a garbage truck into downtown Vancouver, shutting down a multi-block around Yaletown. Police were able to successfully tranquilize and release the bear back into the wild in Squamish just north of Vancouver.

Bear with me for a second

So how did this happen? Well, it all began on December 12th when a garbage truck was making a routine run in North Vancouver. The garbage truck picked up the dumpster it was assigned and dumped its contents into the back of the truck - which along with garbage included a one-year old black bear which had managed to get into the dumpster scouring for food among the garbage.

The garbage truck then made its way into downtown Vancouver for another pickup, unaware of the hitchhiker which it was now carrying. The bear was spotted with its head out of the back of the garbage truck by residents and the garbage truck pulled over by the Queen Elizabeth Theatre as Vancouver Police Department was flooded with calls about a bear in Downtown Vancouver around 3 pm.

Bear was released back into the wild

Vancouver Police blocked off the area as a Wildlife Conservation Officer came in and tranquilized the bear which fell into a sling below held by Vancouver police, with cheers from the crowd following. The bear was then moved north of Vancouver near Squamish where it was released again into the wild. The bear's reaction when he woke up wasn't necessarily the nicest.

 To monitor the bear, an ear tag was attached. While the area the bear was released was a good place for hibernation, there is still a likelihood that it might search out garbage again for food. If this brings it into urban areas again, the bear's safety may be reassessed.