Small bear retrieved from tree in Uniontown
A black bear that wandered in to a Uniontown neighborhood Tuesday evening was successfully tranquilized and transported to remote area for relocation.
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
The Pennsylvania Game Commission was assisted by Uniontown police and fire departments in removing a black bear that had made its way to Hickle Street, Tuesday evening. The bear was successfully tranquilized and transported from the area.
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
A Pennsylvania Game Commission conservation officer prepares a pneumatic tranquilizer pistol in order to bring down a black bear that made its way to Uniontown’s East End, Tuesday evening. The bear was successfully tranquilized and transported from the area.
A young female black bear was successfully retrieved from a tree in a yard along Hickle Street in Uniontown near Pershing Court Tuesday evening.
Wildlife Conservation Officer Shawn Barron said the bear was about 60 pounds and was likely born last spring.
“It could be that its mother died in bear season and she really doesn’t know what to do right now,” he said.
The bear was anesthetized with tranquilizer darts by officers in a Uniontown fire department bucket truck. The groggy yearling continued climbing higher in the tree as the anesthetic took effect. Barron lowered her into the bucket, then placed her in a bear trap where she was tagged.
Pennsylvania Game Commission officers plan to return the bear to the woods.
Barron said bears stay with their mothers until they are about 1.5 years old.
“They’ll go back into the den and spend another year with mom,” he said. “Then around June or July she’ll kick them out.”
Uniontown City Police Department Lieutenant Tom Kolencik said the bear was first spotted walking on Hickle Street, where a small crowd later formed to look at the bear.
He said the bear was on the ground until she was startled by a neighbor’s dogs and ran up the tree.
“We tried to lure it down with marshmallows, but it didn’t want to come down,” he said soon after he arrived on the scene. “In this case, she’s up in the tree and feels safe up there. She’s pretty comfortable.”
The bear was nestled in a fork in the tree. Kolencik said he left some marshmallows on the ground near the base of the tree for the yearling and told neighbors to stay inside with their pets.
He said it is common for bears to become startled by hunters, become disoriented and find themselves in residential areas.
“It is, believe it or not, a pretty common thing that happens once or twice a year,” he said.
Uniontown City Police Department, Fayette EMS and Uniontown City Fire Department assisted the Pennsylvania Game Commission at the scene.