A black bear that was shot in the leg by police after wandering around the Byron-area last month has now been released back into the wild.
In a social media post on Thursday, Bear With Us Centre for Bears said the animal had been let go in northern Ontario.
"London, the bear from London Ontario that was shot by police was set free [Wednesday] in the wilds of North Ontario. Natural foods were plentiful," the post read. It featured two images - one of the bear running free and another of wild raspberries.
The rehabilitation and sanctuary for bears, had nursed the bear it named "London" back to health after it was captured in the city on June 8. The animal was originally spotted in the area of Oxford Street West, near the bridge west of Sanatorium Road around 7 a.m. that day. Roughly two and a half hours later, it was found up a tree in the area of Commissioners Road West and Boler Road.
While waiting for Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to arrive on scene, police ended up shooting the bear in the leg as it began to climb down from its perch. At the time, police said this was done out of fear the bear would run into a large crowd of people who had gathered around the site.
The bear was finally captured more than 12 hours later after it was safely coax down from the tree and hit with several tranquilizer darts by MNR workers. It was then taken to Bear With Us in Sprucedale, where it underwent multiple surgeries to remove bullet fragments and infection.
Initially, the bear was given only a 20 per cent chance of survival, but with constant care the animal beat the odds.
