A bear got stuck up a tree on a south Winnipeg property Saturday morning.

Police and provincial conservation officers were called to the 400 block of Christie Road shortly before noon. The large bear climbed up the tree in the back yard of a property, where it remained 40 feet in the air several hours later.

Conservation officers tried to use a bucket truck to tranquilize the bear, but it was too high to do it safely, conservation officer Robert Belanger said.

“It’s just a waiting game,” he said. “We’re just going to wait until it comes down, and it will be walking along the river, out of this area.”

Belanger said bears don’t like to be around humans and will avoid them if possible. Although smells could draw the bear into yards, Belanger said officers would follow the bear to make sure it stays safe.

“We want the bear to be safe as possible. We don’t want to kill the bear if we don’t have to. And we’re trying to do everything we can to make sure the bear has a good result at the end,” said Belanger.

Belanger said it’s not unusual to see bears in this area of the city. The property is near the Red River, outside the Perimeter Highway.

Sunday morning, a provincial spokesperson told CTV News the bear eventually came down on its own and there was no sign of it in the area.