Bear Removed From Tree in Downtown Albany Park
A black bear spent several hours up a tree at a park in downtown Albany, New York, on Tuesday, May 31, before being tranquillized, removed from the area, and released into the wild by local authorities.
The Albany Police Department said the bear was first spotted in Washington Park, near the corner of State Street and Sprague Place, at around 5:30 am.
About four hours later, it was seen in a tree on the same block, prompting authorities to close the area to both vehicles and pedestrians while police and a team from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) responded.
As they made preparations for the animal’s removal, police spokesman Steve Smith tweeted photos of the bear up the tree with its eyes closed, writing that it had “even taken some time to take a snooze.”
At around 1:30 pm, the bear was “chemically immobilized,” Smith tweeted, causing it to drop from the tree and into a safety net.
The bear was then medically evaluated and released into the Catskill Mountains, police said.
NYSDEC Commissioner Basil Seggos later posted a photo of the bear entering what he called its new “bucolic Catskills habitat.” Credit: Albany Police via Storyful
Video Transcript
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