Bear Visits Rockyview Hospital
September 17, 2007 – 2:00 pm
Erin Slobodian
A black bear, looking to fatten-up ahead of hibernation, followed his nose into the Rockyview General Hospital. Darcy Whiteside with Alberta Sustainable Resources tells 660News that he doubts the bear was there ‘for the hospital food!’
At around 11pm Sunday, the bear stepped on the automatic door opening at the entrance to the hospital and when the door swung open, strolled inside. That’s when a security guard spotted him and chased him outside and up a tree.
The bear waited in the branches until Fish and Wildlife officers showed up and tranquilized him. He has since been released back into the wild.
The Rockyview hospital is located near the Glenmore Reservoir in the city’s southwest.
Whiteside says the reason there has been so many sightings in the area is because the city is expanding. He says it’s not so much that the bears are wandering into urban areas, but rather that the city is moving into the wild.
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