A paddler shot and killed a polar bear in northern Manitoba on Friday, in a rare Canadian example of a recreational traveller killing a member of the protected species.

The province says the incident took place Friday near the mouth of the Seal River, about 50 kilometres west of Churchill on the coast of Hudson Bay.

Provincial wildlife officials are investigating the shooting. Polar bears are a protected species in Manitoba, where they are listed as threatened. There is no sanctioned polar bear hunt in the province.