Jeanie the bear, familiar sight around Whistler ski resort for 20 years, shot by wildlife officers

If nothing else does, the death of Jeanie the black bear ought to persuade people who see wild animals though Disney goggles that human-wildlife interaction, no matter how benign, almost never ends well for the animal.

Conservation officers in Whistler, B.C., were forced to kill Jeanie last week after the well-known bear became increasingly aggressive, invading restaurants in search of food and bluff-charging people in the village.

Jeanie was a fixture at the mountain ski resort north of Vancouver for some 20 years, CTV reported.

Seen often with cubs in tow, Jeanie hung around the village despite having been relocated several times by conservation officers.

With a blaze of white fur on her chest, Jeanie was easily recognizable, a popular photo and video subject for visitors and residents. She even had her own Facebook page.

"We've managed this bear for quite a long time, but the type of conflict she and her cub were engaging in most recently was definitely a threat to public safety and beyond reasonable limits," Insp. Chris Doyle of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, told the Vancouver Province.

"When bears become habituated they don't easily scare off. In the case of this bear, she was very comfortable around people. It wasn't a decision we took lightly, that's for sure."

Jeanie was trapped, then tranquilized and shot, said Doyle. Her current cub was sent to a suburban Vancouver wildlife rehabilitation centre.

The death of the well-known bear in a resort popular with foreign tourists made news outside Canada, with an item on Public Radio International.

Dozens of B.C. black bears are shot each year, usually after encroaching into neighbourhoods in search of food, especially before hibernating for the winter. Vancouver's mountainous northern and eastern suburbs routinely have bears prowling streets and yards looking for food. Officials regularly plead with residents to strip their trees of ripe fruit and ensure garbage bins are bear-proof.

The group Get Bear Smart urged conservation officers to once again relocate Jeanie but Doyle said neither she nor the young cub likely would have survived after years of dining on restaurant leftovers.

Judging from Jeanie's Facebook page, her followers may not have grasped the essential message of what it means to get to familiar with cute animals. The site is already soliciting possible names for the orphaned cub.