Conservation officers in Kamloops have euthanized a black bear they say is responsible for feeding on human remains.

Hunters discovered the body of a man that had been dragged from his car and then partially eaten by a bear off Lake Road near Kamloops Wednesday. A black bear caught in the area has since been euthanized.

"The bite mark measurements that we had from the body matched perfectly with the teeth on that bear, so we were confident that we had the animal that had been feeding on this person," conservation officer Darcy MacPhee said.

The BC Coroners Service identified the corpse as belonging to 53-year-old Rory Nelson Wagner, a man out on day parole from a 1994 murder sentence.

Bear expert Tony Webb says putting down the bear was the right thing to do.

"They really had no choice but to do that," Webb said. "Now it's tasted an easy meal and that bear might become a predatory bear."

The bear was also confident enough to approach Wagner's car, which is something conservation officers say is worrisome, particularly with a campsite less than two kilometres away.

"The vehicle had a lot of scent of cigarette smoke, and sort of typical smells associated with people," MacPhee said.

Last summer, a 73-year-old Lillooet woman was killed by a black bear the fed on her human remains. Four bears were captured in the area and put down as a precaution.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Nafeesa Karim