Wildlife officers had to put down a black bear at a Kananaskis campground on the weekend after it was found foraging through campsites.

The bear was a four-year-old female and staff at Mount Kidd RV Park say she wandered into the area at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

A group of campers left out food and garbage in a make-shift dining tent and officers say the bear was drawn in by the remnants of the picnic.

Other campers banged pots and yelled at the bear to scare it away but it returned a few minutes later and appeared to be even less intimidated.

Conservation officers had to euthanize the animal in the interest of public safety.

Bob Ouellette takes care of campground maintenance at Mount Kidd RV Park and says the bear was just being a bear.

“He was looking for food. He was going through the garbage and that and it was left out overnight and it should never have been left out. There’s signs everywhere,” said Ouellette. “So now they put a big sign up and we’re still having a problem, people just aren’t reading so we’ve had to ask people to leave.”

Ouellette says campground staff usually leave a note at offending campsites when they see food left out to remind people to put it away.

If people don’t comply, they are then forced to call in the conservation officers who will remove the items and possibly impose a fine.

“The owner, he’s been up all night, all night with a flashlight, knocking on people’s doors when they’re sleeping, you got your coolers out there, take it back in. There’s only so much we can do, people have to learn the rules and regulations and follow them,” said Ouellette.

David French has camped in the area with his family many times and says he spoke to the conservation officer that shot the bear.

“He was really, really disappointed and upset that he had to do it,” said French.

He says the officers put up more signs but says the rules are already pretty clear.

“The bear came in a couple of sites down from us and we’re absolutely appalled at what happened. The rules are pretty simple to be honest with you and the fact that they were just not following and a bear came in and paid the price is appalling,” said French. “They were putting up signs about fining campers and I fully support it. Fines should be a little more.”

Izzy Bryant, 10, knows how to take precautions while camping in the mountain parks and says it’s very sad when people and wildlife clash.

“It’s very upsetting because the bear has to pay the price and the human gets away with it when it’s not the bear’s fault,” said Izzy.

Craig Baikie is from Edmonton and Mount Kidd is a regular spot for him and his family.

“Very frustrating because the people here at Mount Kidd RV Park are trying their best to keep everyone educated, keep their coolers, all their garbage away, so the bears don’t come. They come around at night, ya know, 10:30 or 11 at night, make sure your campsite’s clean, all your coolers are away, your pop bottles, empties, citronella candles, everything is away so the bears don’t’ come. So we don’t have this problem,” said Baikie.

Baikie says he thinks more could be done to clamp down on offenders and says officers could crack down a little harder.

“Instead of shooting the bear, kick the people out that are causing the problem and leaving their stuff out cause we don’t need to be shooting bears or any other wildlife because of that or endangering people’s lives,” said Baikie.

The offending campers were asked to leave the park and were fined $172.

For information on bear awareness, visit the Bear Smart page of the Alberta Parks website.

(With files from Kevin Fleming)