A Canadian man has pleaded guilty to shooting and injuring a black bear in Alberta’s Jasper National Park.

Serge Painchaud, 42, has been fined CA$7,500 (about $5,641) over the incident, which took place in August of last year and was a violation of a hunting restriction under the Canada National Parks Act, The Guardian reports.

Painchaud had gone hiking with two friends but got tired before his companions and turned back alone. While on his own, he saw a bear about 100 feet away and across a creek, according to the case’s agreed statement of facts obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The hiker said he “became scared” and fired a warning shot into the air with the 20-gauge shotgun he had brought into the park. Firearms are not permitted in Canada’s national parks, a rule that Painchaud told the court he “honestly had no idea” existed.

After the warning shot, the bear took a few steps in Painchaud’s direction, at which point he shot and injured the animal. The wounded bear rolled down a creek bank and fled into the forest.

Justice Rosanna Saccomani said that the fear Painchaud said he felt upon seeing the bear was irrelevant to the case.

″[That] would apply to pretty much every single person in your situation,” she said, per the CBC. “We’re all afraid of bears.”

Parks Canada spokesperson Kevin Gedling said at the time of the incident that wardens found bear blood at the scene but were unable to find the injured bear. He told the Western Standard that the forest landscape made the search “very challenging” and noted that injured bears could be aggressive and dangerous.

The U.S. National Park Service notes that bear attacks are rare and has a detailed guide describing what hikers should do if they encounter bears. The advice includes remaining calm, making yourself look as large as possible and speaking in a calm, firm voice. It’s crucial to never run from a bear, as they are fast runners and instinctively chase a fleeing animal.