World famous black bear Hope is believed killed

The bear "born on the internet" is believed to have been shot and killed by a hunter in Minnesota, US. Hope was recognised internationally after her birth was filmed and broadcast live via a webcam last year. The black bear and her mother Lily were subjects of a study by US biologist Dr Lynn Rogers and featured in the BBC documentary The Bear Family and Me. Recreational hunting is permitted by licence in the state but hunters are asked not to shoot collared bears. Dr Rogers and his colleagues at the Wildlife Research Institute were tracking 13 bears, each wearing identifying collars. Although Hope's mother Lily was wearing a collar, Hope was not so her exact whereabouts remain unclear. Biologists are trying to piece together what has happened to the bear and are working with the Minnesota Department for Natural Resources who licence hunting in the state. Hope was born in 2010 and as part of their behavioural research, the team placed a camera in Lily's den, filming a 22 hour labour resulting in a single cub. Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan filmed Hope and Lily from close quarters for a documentary later in the year. During filming, Hope was separated from her mother but the two were eventually reunited. Black bear Lily Mother Lily was the subject of a groundbreaking film Dr Rogers has spent the past 45 years studying black bears, and is regarded as a leading authority on their behaviour and ecology. Rather than tranquilising the bears, he has habituated them to his presence, a technique which allowed him to approach Lily's den and set up the webcam that filmed the birth of Hope. Lily and her cubs, including Hope, are the subjects of a Facebook group that has been "liked" by more than 130,000 people.