Utah police use sirens to drive bear up tree for relocation

The Associated Press

5 years ago

In this photo provided by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is a 2-year-old bear in a tre ... — In this photo provided by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is a 2-year-old bear in a tree in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. Orem police used their vehicle sirens to drive a 2-year-old bear up a tree after its presence in the central Utah caused traffic delays Wednesday morning. State Division of Wildlife Resources spokeswoman Faith Heaton Jolley said division personnel then were able to tranquilize the bear and remove it from the tree. (Steve F. Gray/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources via AP)

OREM, Utah — Utah police used their vehicle sirens to drive a 2-year-old bear up a tree after its presence in a northern Utah town caused traffic delays Wednesday morning.

State Division of Wildlife Resources spokeswoman Faith Heaton Jolley said division personnel then were able to tranquilize the bear and catch it in a large net when it fell out of the tree.

Jolley said the brown-colored black bear was placed in a trap in the bed of a pickup truck and driven to the Wasatch Mountains, where it was released. Pictures show him jumping out of the truck and running away.

Jolley says it is unusual for a bear to be roaming city streets that are several miles away from mountains east of the city where wildlife biologists think it came from.