Police and conservation officers are investigating an incident involving the death of a bear at the hands of a Pemberton resident who admitted shooting it with a crossbow within municipal boundaries.

Police were called to a home on Dogwood Street in the Pemberton Benchlands on Saturday (Aug. 21) at around 9 p.m., Whistler RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair said. A resident had heard a “strange cry” and then spotted a dead bear in her backyard, he said.

Pemberton RCMP, who were the first to arrive on the scene, followed a trail of blood to a nearby property. There, a resident admitted he had killed the male black bear with a crossbow, LeClair said.

Conservation officers were called to the scene. Officers seized a crossbow and some arrows as part of their investigation, LeClair said.

Sgt. Chris Doyle of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service on Tuesday (Aug. 24) declined to confirm how the bear died, but added, “We're investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. It looks as though it was not natural causes. The causes of its death are suspicious and are under investigation.

“We'll continue to investigate and determine if there are any violations under the Wildlife Act and if there are, they'll be pursued appropriately.”

Bowhunting within municipal boundaries has recently been a topic of debate in Whistler. A local bear advocate, responding to a recent incident involving hunters using bows to hunt bears along the Callaghan Valley Road, has called for a legislated ban on bowhunting within municipal boundaries.