Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
MassWildlife tranquilizes, captures Charlie the bear in Worcester
The black bear wandered downtown Worcester for a few hours before settling in a neighborhood tree.
A black bear dubbed “Charlie” was tranquilized in Worcester Friday after residents reported him hanging around near their homes.
According to NBC Boston, the male black bear was sitting in a tree in the backyard of an apartment building when police arrived. A MassWildlife official tranquilized the bear, and then it “climbed down slowly” from the tree. Police officers helped carry the animal into the back of a truck.
A video shows the sleeping bear being placed on ice in the truck’s bed, where an orange cover was placed over his head.
In a video shared on social media, a bystander asks if the bear is OK, to which an animal control official responds, “We’re going to take him to the woods now. He’ll wake up in about an hour.”
Advertisement:
Another bystander is heard saying, “[The bear] is going back to Mama,” to which the official replies, “Mama threw him out, unfortunately.”
Dave Wattles, who heads up the Black Bear Project at MassWildlife, told NBC Boston that Charlie could have caused a car accident in the urban area.
“While bear sightings aren’t usually cause for alarm, this bear was immobilized and moved to a nearby forested area for the safety of both the public and the bear,” Wattles said.
Worcester resident Steve Fitzpatrick said the bear ended up in his backyard after roaming around the area for a few hours.
Advertisement:
“It’s literally in our backyard, where I let my dog out this morning at 6 a.m.,” Fitzpatrick told the news outlet. “I’m so glad he wasn’t out there when I did that because I don’t even look to see if there is a bear in Worcester.”
Fitzpatrick said a crowd gathered to watch Charlie’s capture. The black bear “just kind of moved a little and just wobbled and slowly made his way down the tree. And then he looked like he was getting tired and went to sleep,” he told NBC Boston.
MassWildlife reports roughly 4,500 black bears are wandering throughout Massachusetts, with the population expanding toward the eastern part of the state.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com