A black bear named ‘Franklin’ roams the DC neighborhood, perches in a tree to scratch its back – before being tranquilized and removed
- The black bear, nicknamed Franklin, was spotted wandering the streets of Brookland, northeast Washington, by intrigued neighbors
- The bear was tranquilized and taken away safely by the Humane Rescue Alliance
A back bear spotted wondering on the streets of residential Washington DC on Friday morning has been tranquilized and safely removed by animal experts.
The black bear, nicknamed Franklin, who had wreaked havoc in Brookland, northeast Washington, was tranquilized by a Humane Rescue Alliance employee around 10:20 a.m. Friday morning.
The black bear, most commonly found in the more rural parts of Maryland and Virginia, has been spotted by locals wandering the streets and climbing trees in their neighborhoods.
The sightings were reported to law enforcement, who arrived at the bear’s location around 9 a.m., before asking neighbors to keep their distance half a block away, according to the washington post.
Franklin sat in a tree and scratched his back on a branch, while police and firefighters waited for him to come down.
The black bear, nicknamed Franklin, has wreaked havoc in Brookland, northeast Washington
“Are you about to catch him?” a neighbor allegedly asked a DC police officer.
“Well,” replied the officer, “we’ll try to get him down.”
At around 9:50 a.m. Franklin decided to leave the tree, the police sounded their sirens in an attempt to keep him in sight.
Police then rushed to lead puzzled onlookers to safety, telling neighbours: ‘It’s time to leave. Secure yourself in your homes,” he said. “The bear is cowardly.”
He was quickly tranquilized in the courtyard of a premises and placed in a secure cage after falling asleep.
Chris Schindler, vice president of field services at the Humane Rescue Alliance, said the bear was male and likely weighed more than 200 pounds.
He praised the authorities for successfully handling the situation, including waiting for the right equipment, including the cage, to arrive before calming down.
“I think it was an incredible success. We had great turnout and spectacle from a host of district agencies,” he said.
The sightings were reported to law enforcement, who arrived at the bear’s location around 9 a.m.
Franklin was quickly tranquilized in the front yard of a premises and placed in a secure cage
Black bears are more populated in rural areas of Maryland and Virginia
Black bears, but are sometimes seen in the suburbs, especially during the summer months when the young search for food and new territory
“Without all these parts, we would have had a problem.”
A resident, Miss Lilly, who saw the bear posted a video of him running down the street and behind a house on Twitter.
‘I just saw a black bear in DC…. 14 St, NE and Monroe….Please be careful!!!! I call[ed] 911 to educate them and they were calling pest control,” she wrote.
Paige Pearson, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, said the bear was “probably looking for food or its mother and just rolled over a bit.”
“I guess he just got confused and walked away,” she said.
Then “when everyone started showing up, he probably got scared and ran up the tree.”
Black bears are most populated in rural areas of Maryland and Virginia, but are occasionally seen in suburban areas during the summer months as young search for food and new territories.
