Conservation officers had their hands full on Sunday (July 11) afternoon, responding to two consecutive calls involving bears that were overly habituated to humans.

In one of the cases, the bear was put down after "it stood on its hind legs and swatted" at an RCMP member, said Lower Mainland conservation officer, Alexandre Desjardins.

At approximately 1 p.m. on Sunday, conservation officers arrived at a residence on Dempsey Road near Lynn Valley Road after receiving reports that a large black bear had partially entered the home by poking its head through the window.

Desjardins said the 150 kg male black bear was tranquilized and relocated to the upper Squamish Valley with some assistance from the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.

"We used one of their stretchers to wheel him (the bear) out," explained Desjardins.

In the second incident, conservation officers were dispatched at around 3:30 p.m. to Apex Avenue at Garibaldi Drive in Deep Cove where a black bear was reported to be wandering from property to property in search of garbage.

"The bear was acting aggressively towards one of the (RCMP) officers," said Desjardins.

After tranquilizing the bear, officers learned that it had sustained a wound to its lower back sometime in the past couple of months.

"It probably entered a shed and caught a jagged piece of metal," Desjardins speculated.

Officers were forced to destroy the bear which Desjardins said was "extremely habituated to humans".

"The bear's injury was not a big factor," he said. "What was worrying was the aggressive behaviour."

Tony Webb, chair of the North Shore Black Bear Network, says the blame for this latest bear killing lies solely with the people who leave their garbage or other attractants out where bears can find it.

"We have about an 80 per cent compliance rate," he said. "It's a work in progress. Everyone needs to be on board."

For more information on bear proofing your home you can go online at www.northshorebears.com.