A family of bears kept conservation officers busy early Sunday evening on Wickstrom Road, across the Yukon River from downtown Whitehorse.

A sow with two cubs had been making her way toward the houses and into people’s yards on the hunt for choke cherries.

Environment Yukon spokeswoman Erin Loxam said this morning conservation officers had been monitoring the bears since Friday, when they had been spotted in Riverdale.

When photographer Terry Scheel arrived, she said, officers had already captured the sow and had darted the two cubs up a tree with tranquilizer darts. They were waiting for them to fall out of the tree, and had placed a mattress on the ground to help cushion the fall.

“An officer went up a ladder, which prompted one of the cubs to move and fall onto a mat placed under the tree,” Scheel said.

The cub was taken to a bear trap which was on site.

“The other cub was then darted for a second time and soon afterwards, fell out of the tree onto the mat the officers were holding to catch it, and was reunited with its sibling,” Scheel said.

All the bears were moved to an area outside city limits.

Loxam said there have been many bear incidents around Whitehorse that conservation officers are continuing to respond to. The bruins are not moving away from the city as they normally would, she said.

A poor wild berry season has meant bears are opting to make their way into yards where berry plants are more plentiful.

The department is reminding residents to manage attractants in their yards and pick any berries that might be growing before bears can get to them.