Fresno Police Help Corral Bear After It Catches Ride In Dumpster
FRESNO (CBS SF) -- Police in Fresno on Tuesday helped a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist capture a young black bear that was wandering around at a garbage disposal facility after being transported there inside a Dumpster, authorities said.
The bear, which according to a report on the Fresno Bee website was a male juvenile black bear weighing about 80 pounds, was found Tuesday wandering around at the Orange Avenue Disposal dump. Dan Fidler, a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said he heard the bear had ended up in Fresno after being brought there in a Dumpster that had been at Hume Lake in the Sequoia National Forest.
"When they emptied the Dumpster here at the facility, it got out," Fidler said.
Fidler was able to capture the bear and tranquilize it with a dart after receiving a hand from Fresno police officers. In addition to being tranquilized, the bear had a blindfold put on to help keep it calm during transportation back to Hume Lake.
Fidler said this kind of incident is rare, but that the ample food sources from the many people camping probably led to the bear ending up in the Dumpster.