Animals

Bear hit twice by tranquilizers after strolling through Manchester

A bear there was, a bear, a bear!

Police tried to wrangle this bear in a Manchester neighborhood. Manchester Police

Residents in Manchester, New Hampshire were advised to steer clear of a large bear strolling through a city neighborhood on Friday mid-morning, police said.

Cameras from WBZ filmed live as the bear lounged near the top of a tree on Warner Street, away from animal control officers.

Manchester Fire District Chief Brendan Burns said officials with Animal Control and with New Hampshire Fish and Game Department were on hand attempting to wrangle the mammal.

Officials then shot the bear twice with a tranquilizer gun, Burns said. The bear became agitated, he added, and dropped from the tree under its own power and wandered back into the woods.

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Burns said in his 20 years with Manchester Fire, this was just the third bear he’d encountered.

“That’s a fairly urban neighborhood, so that’s pretty rare,” he said. “The bear climbed up the only tree within five blocks.”

In its limited time in the spotlight, the bear even inspired its own parody Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/ManchBear/status/733670975540191233

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