GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Natural Resources tranquilized and captured a bear that was in a tree Sunday morning in Grand Rapids.
13 On Your Side received calls from community members about bear sightings Saturday, and Grand Rapids Police officers were able to track it down.
The DNR was notified around 8 a.m. that there was a bear in a tree in the 1600 block of Horton Avenue SE. They responded shortly after 9 a.m.
According to Mark Mills, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan DNR, the bear was spotted yesterday and tracked by GRPD until it was in the tree Sunday morning.
"It's the natural response a bear will do when they feel threatened -- they will climb a tree," Mills said.
To capture the bear, the DNR used a dart to anesthetize the bear, and it fell from the tree. It was then loaded onto a bear trap in a trailer and taken up north so it can be released in a less populated area.
The bear is expected to be OK.
Mills said the situation was similar to one the DNR responded to last May, but every situation is a little bit different.
"Ideally we would just back off, he'd climb down and find his way around, but unfortunately, that's not really possible with this many people around," Mills said.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more details become available.
RELATED VIDEO:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.