Social media lit up last night with sightings of a bear wandering around Scarborough. Yes, that's right, there was a black bear on the loose in Toronto, and apparently it didn't escape from the zoo.

After receiving multiple reports of a bear entering backyards in the area around Finch Avenue East and Markham Road, Toronto Police Operations took to Twitter to warn people of the ongoing situation.

**300 lb bear*** reported by a callers in the Tapscott Rd and Finch Ave E area. We do not know its location now. If seen call 911 ^ma

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) May 13, 2017

Not knowing where the bear came from or what it was after, police advised residents to secure their garbage. It was also confirmed that the Toronto zoo was not missing any of its group of bears.

.@ONresources is advising that residents in the area should secure garbage and compost as the bear may be foraging for food ^ma @TPS42Div

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) May 13, 2017

At this point, the whole affair was bizarre enough to warrant a series of humorous tweets making light of the oddity of a 300 pound bear poking its way around Scarborough backyards. While not highly dense, the area in question is completely urbanized.

In my mind, Toronto Police are currently rolling around north Scarborough in that armoured vehicle they got for the G20, looking for a bear.

— Rishi Maharaj (@9x19) May 13, 2017

John Tory's subway plans even took a hit as the bear hunt started to reach its peak yesterday night. This was the height of the lighthearted response to the situation.

@TorontoShare That was just John Tory looking for the Scarborough subway. #bear #hunt #Scarborough

— Calvin Swine (@CalvinSwine905) May 13, 2017

Things took a more serious turn when the police actually found the bear in someone's backyard after what was reportedly a three hour search. At this point it was about 1 a.m. and much of the social media attention quieted down.

.@ONresources @TPS42Div @TheTorontoZoo Our officers have advised that they located the bear in the McCowan Rd and Finch Ave E area and they are currently monitoring it ^ma

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) May 13, 2017

Unfortunately many people woke to the news that the bear was ultimately shot by police when animal control services informed them that they were not adequately equipped to handle a situation involving a bear.

Disappointing to hear that the bear in Scarborough was shot. due to animal control "not being equipped" to deal with it.
Seems senseless

— James (@sixteencylinder) May 13, 2017

It's still not known where the bear came from. The close proximity to the Toronto Zoo has been characterized as a coincidence given that all of its animals are accounted for.

While there have been some bear sightings in the broader GTA over the last little while, it's exceedingly rare to have a bear on the loose within the limits of the city of Toronto.