The number of black bear sightings in the town of La Ronge continues to rise, and on the weekend one of the animals had to be destroyed.
Officials with Saskatchewan Environment say 12 bears have now been trapped and re-located, and the cool spring weather is being blamed.
Conservation Officer Rich Hildebrand says the number of reported sightings is much higher than usual.
“Approximately 80 calls of bear sightings in and around La Ronge this year which is a significant increase from last year in which they only had a few isolated incidents”.
Hildebrand adds “with the berries just starting to get going hopefully they will seek that food source and get out of the La Ronge area”.
So far there have been no injuries reported in any human encounters with bears in the town.
Information on what to do if you encounter a bear can be found at the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment website.