A mother bear and her cub were rescued from a tree in Amesbury
The pair was released to a wooded area.
Amesbury Fire Department
A mother bear and her cub climbed a tree in Amesbury Tuesday morning, prompting first responders to tranquilize and relocate both, officials said.
The two bears were seen among the branches of a tree on private property near Elm Street and Atlantic Avenue and were reported to Massachusetts Environmental Police around 6:12 a.m., Katie Gronendyke, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, told Boston.com in an email.
Bears often climb up and down trees safely, according to a press release issued by the Amesbury Fire Department. However, in populated areas, crowds may form to watch the bears and the people can startle them.
Dozens watched the rescue effort unfold Tuesday, according to posts on Twitter, although first responders asked people to avoid the area.
https://www.facebook.com/AmesburyFireRescueIaffLocal1783/photos/a.600679603348356/1941997222549914/?type=3&theater
Firefighters, who arrived on scene with a ladder truck around 9:54 a.m., worked with MassWildlife to tranquilize and capture both bears, the release said.
The 150-pound mother bear was taken into custody first before officials handled the cub, according to Gronendyke.
“Firefighters also deployed tubs of ice to help prevent overheating, which can occur when a bear is tranquilized,” the statement from the fire department said. “The bears were tagged and released by MassWildlife back into the wild in a safe location.”
WATCH: Crews use a tarp to catch a smaller bear tranquilized in a tree in #Amesbury pic.twitter.com/UNwStJ9mAM
— WBZ | CBS News Boston (@wbz) October 9, 2018
Amesbury Fire Chief Kenneth Berkenbush said firefighters are glad neither the bears nor anybody else were hurt in the incident.
“We should always be mindful that we share the land with many varieties of wildlife, and I encourage all residents to do what they can to ensure peaceful coexistence with nature,” Berkenbush said in a statement.
Black bears — whose population has grown in Eastern Massachusetts — usually avoid humans, officials said. Should another one be seen in Amesbury, people should remain calm, slowly back away from it, and leave the area, they said.
