Conservation officers try to capture bear seen roaming Winnipeg's Wildwood neighbourhood

Conservation officers were seen inWinnipeg's Wildwood area Tuesday afternoon following up on reports of a black bear roaming the forested neighbourhood just west of the Red River.

Firefighters and conservation officers were called to the scene of where the bear had climbed a tree on Manchester Boulevard South.

"CO's will try to keep everyone back, so the bear comes down on its own and then they will deal with it," a provincial spokespersonwrote in an email shortly before 4 p.m.

CBC News saw the officers preparing tranquilizing equipment nearby. The province said officers couldn't "dart it" immediately over fears it could fall from the tree and get hurt.

Staff Sgt. Graeme Smith with the conservation officer service told CBCNewsthe plan was to force the bear into a tree so they couldsafelytranquilize it and relocate it.

Things didn't go exactly they way wanted because the bear picked the largest tree in the neighbourhood, he said.

"Once we were set up with fire and police, the bear decided to go a little higher," Smith said.

"So our initial plan was to have fire here to assist us in catching the bear if it were to come out of the tree, but with the position of the hydro lines and the tree itself, it wasn't possible and the bear continued to climb higher."

Winnipeg firefighters attended at the request of Manitoba Conservation before being told they could leave, a WFPS spokesperson said in an email.

Waiting for the bear

Smithsaid the plan on Tuesday afternoon was to pull back and"wait it out" in hopes the bear would come down the tree on its own.

"We're just going to wait until everyone's kind of in for the night and it gets darker, and then we'll let the bear come down and try again," he said.

He said while it's unusual for a bear to be in a city, there have been similar situationsin the past and bears have found "their own way out."

Smith notedthe bear found its way into the neighbourhoodwithout being detected.

He said reports of a bear sighting first started coming in early Tuesday morning and those reports were later confirmed.

"The bear is treed, it's not going to come down unless we let it come down," Smith said. "It's a defensive mechanism that they have so there's no danger to anyone here."

Smith said once they get the animal down from the tree,the bear will likely be relocated to Whiteshell Provincial Park or north of Pine Falls.