Conservation officers say a picnic-stealing black bear can no longer safely co-exist with humans and will have to be destroyed.

The bear has been spotted multiple times in Burnaby Mountain Park, a conservation area in Metro Vancouver, adjacent to Simon Fraser University, according to provincial conservation officer Kent Popjes.

That includes three days in a row where it was reported “accessing picnic lunches,” followed by an incident on Aug. 31 that was captured on video, racking up millions of views across social media.

That footage was captured by Upansa and Divyanshu Chaubisa who filmed the bear walking toward a large group of people sitting in the park.

WATCH | Black bear surprises picknickers: 

In the video, several people can be heard yelling out words of warning, prompting the picnickers to scatter.

“We all were very scared,” Upansa said, noting that one couple seemed to be absorbed by their reading and didn’t notice until the bear was directly behind them.

Once the area was cleared the bear started snacking on food that was left behind, sticking around for about five minutes before moving on, the Chaubisas said.

While no one was harmed, Popjes said it is clear the bear is no longer exhibiting safe behaviour around humans.

“Basically that’s the kind of bear that’s completely lost its fear of humans and it will walk up and grab food, likely from your hand,” he said. “The public safety threshold was exceeded for a bear that we can tolerate in the community.”

The park has remained open, but food is now prohibited and a live trap has been set up with Popjes saying if the bear is caught it will have to be killed.

On Thursday, a bear was seen going into the trap but conservation officers were not immediately able to confirm if it was the same bear that has been stealing food.

Petition launched to save bear

Meanwhile, a Burnaby resident has started an online petition calling on conservation officers and the B.C. government to remove the trap and leave the bear be.

“Those of us who live, walk, and hike on Burnaby Mountain do not feel threatened by this bear,” it reads. “We understand that black bears are shy, intelligent animals who are simply trying to survive in shrinking pockets of their natural habitat. This bear has shown no signs of aggression and has not harmed anyone.”

WATCH | Conservation officer says bear cannot co-exist with people: 

Instead of killing the bear, the petition asks that the bear be humanely relocated and calls on more investment in wildlife corridors and cohabitation strategies across the Lower Mainland.

“This bear is not the problem —habitat loss and urban expansion are,” reads the petition started by Kateryna Kurdyuk.

Popjes said while there are multiple known bears in the area, only the one caught on video is being targeted because of its willingness to approach humans for food.

He said the incident is a reminder that it is up to people to do what they can to avoid attracting bears so they don’t become acclimatized to humans.

Among his advice: remove bird feeders, clean up garbage and leave food in your car until you actually plan to eat it.

“Don’t leave food unattended, that’s the biggest problem we have with people,” he said.