A black bear killed by RCMP officers after a three-year-old girl was mauled outside her Maple Ridge, British Columbia, home was the same animal responsible for the attack, provincial conservation officers now say. The finding reverses an earlier assessment that police had shot the wrong bear and ends an investigation that left residents wondering whether the attacking animal was still at large.
The attack happened at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, in the 12300 block of 240th Street. Three-year-old Anaiyah Lekei was on the back deck of her family home when the bear attacked. Her father intervened, drove the animal away and, according to family accounts reported by Canadian media, struck it with an arrow from a compound bow while protecting his daughter.
Anaiyah suffered wounds to her head, neck and back and was airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital. Her family said she underwent surgery. Police described her injuries as non-life-altering, and the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said in its latest update that she continues to recover.
Why officials first believed RCMP killed the wrong bear
Maple Ridge RCMP remained in the area after the attack and reported seeing a bear several times on nearby residential properties while people were outside. About 30 to 40 minutes after the mauling, officers shot and killed a bear close to the scene because of the immediate public-safety concern.
Two days later, the case changed direction. Conservation officers said a necropsy led investigators to conclude that the animal killed by police was not the bear that attacked the child. Authorities therefore had to proceed on the possibility that the offending bear remained in the area.
On Friday, Aug. 14, Sgt. Jeremy Pauls announced that investigators had reassessed the evidence, gathered additional material and completed DNA analysis. The service now says the bear dispatched by RCMP was in fact the animal responsible for the attack.
Pauls apologized for the confusion caused by the earlier finding and thanked the officers who responded. He also confirmed that no other bears were killed in connection with the Maple Ridge incident and said the conservation investigation is now closed.
The reversal matters because it resolves the main public-safety question created by the first assessment. It also shows why an initial wildlife finding can change when DNA and other forensic evidence are added to a necropsy and field observations.
British Columbia has faced other serious bear encounters, including the grizzly bear attack involving students and staff in Bella Coola. The circumstances were different, but both cases show how quickly a wildlife encounter can become an emergency near homes, schools or recreation areas.
What the updated finding means for Maple Ridge
The latest result removes the specific fear that the bear involved in this attack was still loose. It does not mean bear activity in the wider area has ended. Maple Ridge regularly experiences black bear movement around neighbourhoods, especially where garbage, compost, fruit, pet food or other attractants are available.
The City of Maple Ridge advises residents to secure garbage and green waste, pick ripe fruit, clean barbecue grease, feed pets indoors and give bears room to leave. Its official wildlife safety guidance also tells people not to run from a bear and to back away slowly.
For broader context on black bears and other species, this guide to bear species and conservation pressures explains where major bear populations live and the challenges affecting them. A bear sighting by itself does not establish aggressive behaviour, which is why authorities assess the evidence from each incident separately.
How the timeline was resolved
The sequence is now clearer: the child was attacked late Sunday morning, a bear repeatedly appeared nearby, and RCMP killed an animal shortly afterward. A preliminary post-mortem assessment then pointed investigators in the wrong direction before additional evidence and DNA testing corrected the identification on Friday.
That determination closes the case without another bear being destroyed. For the Lekei family, the central concern remains Anaiyah’s recovery after a frightening attack that unfolded only steps from home.
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