Pennsylvania game wardens, Lower Allen Township police and fire crews caught a black bear in a tarp as it fell more than 20 feet out of a tree behind a Cumberland County high school on Tuesday afternoon.
The bear, which did not appear to be fully grown, was spotted near Gettysburg Road in a neighborhood behind Trinity High School somewhere between noon and 1 p.m. By 2:30, the bear was in a tree on Gettysburg Road while police and game wardens held a blue tarp underneath the bear, waiting to catch the animal.
Staff at Trinity High School said the school received a notice to remain inside because of the bear around 12:30 p.m.
Lower Allen Township Fire and Rescue responded to the area and used a ladder truck to get officials closer to the bear and shoot it with a tranquilizer.
After catching the bear in the tarp, game wardens gave the bear additional tranquilizer and said it will likely be released on state land near Juniata County. Because the bear was captured alone, it will not be relocated with other bears.
A section of Gettysburg Road was closed while officials waited for the bear to come out of the tree, but it reopened around 3:15 p.m.
Multiple bear sightings have been reported in Cumberland County throughout the last few weeks, including a dead black bear along Route 581 near exit 3 for Route 11/Carlisle Pike. Another bear sighting on Monday in a neighborhood in Upper Allen Township marked the third sighting in the last month.
Game wardens at the scene said the bear near Trinity High School is likely not related to the dead bear found along Route 581 earlier Tuesday morning.
Black bears are the only bear species found in Pennsylvania, according to the Pa. Game Commission. There are about 20,000 black bears in the state.
