A three-year-old girl is in hospital after being attacked by a bear outside her family’s home in the northeastern part of Metro Vancouver.
A parent who was nearby intervened and chased the bear away, the service said.
The child was subsequently airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital as a precautionary measure “due to her age,” where she is receiving treatment for injuries that have been described as non-life-threatening, said the RCMP, who responded to the scene.
The bear returned to the home and the immediate area multiple times while police were at the scene.
“As the bear had showed signs of aggression and already attacked a small child, officers made the decision to discharge a firearm in an effort to protect public safety in the immediate area,” the RCMP said in a press release. “The bear was struck but continued to flee into a wooded area.”
The predator attack team from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service has assumed responsibility for tracking the bear and the investigation is ongoing, the service said.
Officials are continuing to advise the public in the surrounding area to be alert and stay indoors.
There has been other recent bear sightings in the Vancouver area. A black bear was tranquilized and later released outside Vancouver in May after it was seen wandering around the city at night.
Bear attacks are rare in Canada, but data shows an average of about one to two fatal bear attacks per year nationwide, according to a 2024 study from Lakehead University.
Several people were badly injured and at least one person has died in separate grizzly bear attacks across the province in 2025.
A British Columbia resident Joe Pendry died from complications weeks after a vicious grizzly bear attack in October 2025. The 63-year-old was hunting elk near Fort Steele, B.C., when a grizzly charged him, severely injuring him before he managed to fight it off and shoot it. He initially survived the mauling and underwent multiple surgeries, but died from a suspected blood clot three weeks later.
A grizzly bear also attacked a school group of about 20 students and staff on a field trip near Bella Coola, B.C., on Nov. 20, 2025, injuring 11 people.
