Officials at Moncton’s Magnetic Hill Zoo say a black bear broke into the zoo and killed a small deer early Monday.
Zoo employees say they found the bear in the deer’s pen Monday morning.
They believe the wild bear entered the premises sometime before dawn and attacked the Reeves Muntjac, also known as a barking deer, which is typically found in southeast Asia.
Zoo employees alerted the Department of Natural Resources and officers were dispatched to the site.
After assessing the situation, the officers decided to euthanize the bear as a safety precaution.
“This is an unfortunate situation. We lost one of our beloved Muntjacs,” said Bruce Dougan, General Manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo in a statement.
“We do find skunks and raccoons who find their way under or over our perimeter fence, but in my 24 years at the zoo, I have never seen a large wild animal enter the facility.”
The zoo is surrounded by a two-metre-high fence and officials say all enclosures have been built following industry standards.
Zoo employees are investigating how the bear managed to enter the facility.
