Marauding polar bear shot by Newfoundland wildlife officers

A polar bear that was going house to house in the Northern Peninsula town of Goose Cove overnight was killed by provincial conservation officials who feared it might harm someone.

The bear broke into one house and tried to get into three others before it lumbered onto a nearby sheep farm, where it killed a sheep, a lamb and two ducks.

Damien Reardon came face to face with the large animal in his Goose Covehome at 4:30 a.m.

"I turned on the kitchen light and the polar bear was halfway in through the kitchen door, the patio door. Pretty scaredI bawled out to Father and he came out and we made noises and [the bear] took off," he said.

Provincialconservation officialsestimate the bear weighed more than 150 kilograms.

A provincial Natural Resources official told CBC News that conservation officials in the area tried to get help to keepthe animal away from people without killing it.

"Ahelicopter was requestedwith aplan to tranquilize the bear and remove it from the area. The weatherwas not suitable for flying. So that plan was scrapped," according toan emailfrom the department.

"The department does not tranquilize bears unless there is a helicopter in the area, for safety reasons.The bear was aggressive and believed to be a danger to the public. The decision was made by the Department of Natural Resources and the RCMP that it should be put down in the interest of public safety."