Large black bear sighted, captured in Highland Park
Shhhh. Don’t wake the bear. A black bear took an afternoon nap under a tree Tuesday in Highland Park, according to an alert from the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety.
“It is a wild animal and is unpredictable,” stated the community advisory, issued at about 1:30 p.m. “Avoid the area if you are not here. If you live in Highland Park, get indoors.”
The bear was spotted near Heberton Street and Wellesley
Avenue and again on Grafton Street.
Eventually, the approximately 250-pound male came to rest in the yard of a house belonging to Dr. Michael Horowitz along Herberton Street. After some assistance from Pittsburgh police and SWAT, state Game Warden Matt Kramer said authorities were able to tranquilize the bear safely
and plan to move him to a “more suitable habitat,” likely state game lands in Fayette County.
“We didn’t think 2020 could get any stranger,” Dr. Horowitz said.
The state Game Commission said it is not uncommon for black bears to pass through urban areas in the spring, particularly when sows force the previous year’s male cubs from the den. Black bears are generally shy and harmless, but could turn on a human or pet if surprised or challenged.
No one has been killed by a black bear in Pennsylvania for as long as those records have been kept.
Generally, Game Commission policy is to leave the bear alone until it leaves. Problem bears that are disruptive and remain in a populated area are sometimes tranquilized and relocated to a rural area.
“The bear was very docile and wasn’t a threat to anyone,” Mr. Kramer said. “But, because of how residential this area is, we decided that moving it was the best course of action.”
To avoid accidental human-bear contacts, Mr. Kramer recommends securing garbage can lids or storing the cans indoors, and don’t leave out pet food or bird feed overnight. If you encounter a bear, don’t make eye contact. Raise your arms to make yourself look bigger and back away slowly at an angle.
About 18,000 black bears coexist with humans in Pennsylvania. In recent years, liberal hunting regulations were enacted in urban parts of the state to check bear populations.