Calif. Police Chase Bear Roaming Neighborhood

Sept. 25, 2012
CHICO -- More information came out Monday about an adult bear's ramble through the streets of Chico early Sunday morning.

CHICO -- More information came out Monday about an adult bear's ramble through the streets of Chico early Sunday morning.

It climbed a tree, explored backyards, got chased into a garage with two shots of beanbag rounds and was tranquilized all under the watch of Chico police.

About 3:20 a.m. Sunday, residents started calling the Chico Police Department to report a 300-pound bear in a residential neighborhood off of Springfield Drive, according to a Police Department press release.

Officers responded to Springfield Manor and kept sight of the bear, hoping it would return to the foothills before daylight, police reported. They advised neighbors to stay in their homes with their doors locked.

The bear climbed backyard fences and when it didn't reappear, officers starting searching the yards, police reported.

They found it in a narrow side yard. In an effort to chase it out of the residential neighborhood, officers fired two beanbag shots, hitting the bear. The animal fled over fences and into an open back door of a garage.

The door was then closed, trapping the bear, and officers had the elderly resident leave her home, police reported.

The California Department of Fish and Game responded and shot the bear twice with a tranquilizer gun. Once the bear was unconscious, wardens and police loaded it into a Fish and Game truck.

A biologist tagged the bear and returned it to the mountains east of Chico, police reported.

Copyright 2012 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG NewspapersAll Rights Reserved

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