A bear was killed by a hunter months after it captivated a Michigan neighborhood
Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Steve Griffith prepares to fire a tranquilizer dart into a black bear in a tree outside of a home, May 14, 2023, in Traverse City, Mich. The 350-pound black bear that perched for hours in a tree, causing a Mother's Day spectacle last spring in northern Michigan, was killed by a hunter, authorities said Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Credit: AP/Jan-Michael Stump
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A 350-pound black bear that perched for hours in a tree, causing a Mother's Day spectacle last spring in northern Michigan, was killed by a hunter, authorities said.
“It makes me sad, because I was just envisioning it living peacefully in the forest somewhere, thriving as a bear does,” said Ashlea Walter, who was among dozens of people who watched in May as authorities responded to a bear in a Traverse City neighborhood.
The bear was killed four months later in September in Emmet County, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.
“We have a few designated relocation sites and then let it go, and it’s on its own to be a bear,” said Stephen Griffith, a state wildlife biologist. “And yes, during the bear season, obviously some of them fall prey of a hunter.”
The bear's arrival on Mother's Day caused a stir. Spectators sitting on front lawns and in chairs held phones up to take pictures and video of the bear in a tree.
The bear fell asleep for hours after being shot with tranquilizer darts, then fell out of the tree and landed on a mattress — a soft landing that was supplied by Walter.
The bear was transferred on a tarp and released miles away in the wild.
Suit vs. Gurney's over damaged Lamborghini ... Down to the wire for Hochul, Blakeman ... Your Trick or Treat weather forecast ... Assessing the Giants at the mid point
Suit vs. Gurney's over damaged Lamborghini ... Down to the wire for Hochul, Blakeman ... Your Trick or Treat weather forecast ... Assessing the Giants at the mid point
