Bear attacks three-year-old girl playing on deck outside home in Maple Ridge, B.C.

A young girl is in hospital after police and conservation officials say she was attacked by a bear outside her family’s home in a city east of Vancouver.

British Columbia’s Conservation Officer Service says in an online statement that the three-year-old was attacked by an adult black bear in Maple Ridge shortly before noon on Sunday while playing on her family’s backyard deck. 

The statement says a parent who was nearby intervened and chased the bear away, and the child was airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital where she is being treated for injuries described as non-life-threatening.

Mounties say in a statement that while their officers were at the scene, the bear returned to the home and the immediate area multiple times, and officers decided to shoot it since it appeared aggressive and had already attacked the child.

Police say the bear was struck, but ran off into a wooded area.

The Conservation Officer Service says a predator attack team has been deployed to the scene, and the investigation is ongoing.

“Officials continue to advise the public in the surrounding area to be aware and stay indoors,” police said in their statement.

The RCMP described the girl’s injuries as non-life-altering, and said the decision to transport her to hospital in an air ambulance was made out of an abundance of caution due to her age.

The Conservation Officer Service, meanwhile, said additional information will be shared as the investigation progresses.

“Our thoughts are with the child, her family, and all those affected by this incident,” the service’s statement said.

Back in May, a black bear was tranquilized and later released outside Vancouver after it was seen wandering around the city at night.

Several people were badly injured and at least one person has died in separate grizzly bear attacks across the province in 2025. 

In November, a grizzly bear attacked a school group of about 20 students and staff on a field trip near Bella Coola, B.C., on Nov. 20, 2025, injuring 11 people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2026.

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