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Black bear comes to town

By DAVE RICHARDSON Chronicle Staff Writer

The appearance of a male black bear in Bozeman's quiet, residential northeast neighborhood Thursday sent residents and police scrambling, and sparked brief concern at Whittier Elementary School.


DEIRDRE EITEL/CHRONICLE A black bear, exhuasted by a morning in the city,. tries to find a comfortable place for a nap up a tree on West Hemlock Street on Friday. The bear was eventually tranquilized and transported out of town. After eating some apples from a tree, hanging around Kmart on North Seventh Avenue and making an aborted approach to the nearby Applebee's Neighborhood Bar and Grill, the bear climbed up another tree and sat, looking sleepy and a little embarrassed.

At that point, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials were able to tranquilize and safely lower the bruin to the ground. He was then caged and taken away.

“He got a nice view from the tree, had a short nap and got out of there,” said Brian Lloyd, the GWP game warden who corralled the wayward bear.

Bears have been making more urban appearances across Montana of late, driven by the weather, fires and the never-ending quest for tasty, trouble-free food sources, Lloyd said.

In this case, the quest probably resulted in food that was tasty, yes, but trouble-free? Not so much.

“They love apples," Lloyd said. "He was just looking for an easy meal.”

Lloyd said he wasn't sure how old the male bear was.

Whittier students remained inside for lunch, as usual, and by the time afternoon recess rolled around, the bear had been captured.

He'll be released into the wild after he recovers from the tranquilizer, Lloyd said.

Dave Richardson is at drichardson@dailychronicle.com

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