Bear Tranquilized After Spending Hours In Manchester Tree
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CBS) -- A tranquilizer dart and a firm nudge was all it took to finally get a bear out of a tree in a Manchester, New Hampshire neighborhood.
The bear had the city buzzing for several hours Monday morning. He seemed to just be lounging up in the tree, with no intention of coming down on his own.
It turns out the young black bear was actually napping in a tree right next to Ste. Marie's Church in Manchester, which, surprisingly, is a perfect spot for conservation officers to remove him.
"He's calm. He's relaxed. He probably spent the night here. It appears he's been eating a lot of bird seed and probably into dumpsters and garbage as well," says Conservation Officer Chris McKee of NH Fish and Game.
Over the course of several hours, they strung up a tarp at the base of the tree. They watched and waited as the bear stayed put in this very urban area where you just don't want a bear to be.
"This time of year they're looking for an easy meal because the berries aren't out now, the nuts aren't out and that's what he's in here doing, looking for an easy meal," McKee says.
Then it was time for the tranquilizer dart. It took about nine minutes for the drug to kick in and when it did, down came the bear, but only to a lower branch. So an intrepid biologist from NH Fish and Game climbed a ladder and gave the bear a little push, right into the tarp.
"At that point in time we carried him to the crate, where he's now going to be relocated to the North Country," says McKee.
Of course, the curious gathered to watch the Fish and Game officers do their work, some with a lot of excitement. "That was really cool. I've never seen a bear, but that was really cool," says 8-year-old Chase Grande.
The bear is going to a large, forested area in the NH Lakes Region.
In May of 2016, another small bear in a similar situation climbed up a tree in a Manchester backyard after evading police and needed to be transquilized.