Three black bears shot by Sudbury police so far this summer

Sudbury police have had to euthanize three bears this season after the animals were wounded by local residents.

"In each situation, the bear was previously injured, and as a result we did that just to take away the bear's suffering," said Sudbury police inspector MichaelChapman.

Two of the bears were hit by cars on highwaysnearLively and Hanmer and were still breathing when police arrived,Chapman said.

The third bear was wounded when a local resident shotit with a crossbow.

In that case, the person shot an arrow at thatbear after it wandered on to their neighbour's porch.

"We believe it was done in a safe manner and as a result there are no charges," Chapman told CBC News.

"The reason for why the resident did thatalthough we don't encourage thatwas appropriate in the circumstances."

Complaints down, but too early in theseason to tell

Complaints about bearshave decreasedcompared to this time last year.

TheMinistry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has received 250calls to its Bear Wise line so farhalf the amount they received this time last summer.

But both police and the ministrysaidthe season is just getting started.

"We've got the rest of the summer to get through," said Ross Hart, the Sudbury district manager for the MNRF.

"A call to the Bear Wise line is not necessarily meaning that we've got a new bear sighting. Calls may be down because fewer people are seeing that same bear."

Hart said the bear's food source changes over the season, whether it's berries or bugs.When one of those natural food sources dries up, that's when bears come into residential areas looking for food.

"Bearsmove on from food source to food source. Right now its blueberries and there aren't a lot of them," Hart said.

"It's really hard to predict for the rest of the summer season and into the fallwhen different crops will ripen," he said.

"It's too early to tell right now."

Morning North:Listenhere for the latest on theSudbury bear season so far.

Morning North7:24Sudbury's bear situation for summer 2016

Have you seen a black bear in your backyard yet this year? Our reporter Marina von Stackelberg joined us in studio to give us an update on the city's bear situation... and the other conflicts going on between bears and city residents.