Bear Shot Down From Paramus Tree With Tranquilizer Darts

PARAMUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A black bear wreaked havoc on an industrial area in Paramus on Thursday before being shot with tranquilizer darts and falling safely out of a tree.

At around noon, the bear climbed up a different tree near Parkway Elementary School. After a while, it climbed down and ran across busy Ridgewood Avenue.

The bear -- which is believed to be male, over a year old and weighs about 100 pounds -- then made its way up Winters Avenue.

"He probably got chased down out of the New York state, followed the Saddle River or the Pascack Brook down from New York and around Washington Township, there were two bears," Carol Tyler of Bergen County Animal Control told CBS 2's John Slattery. "I guess the bigger one got to stay, and he had to move south."

At around 2 p.m., it climbed up a second tree near the Capri Institute of Cosmetology, where a sharpshooter hit it with two tranquilizer darts at around 4 p.m. It fell into a net placed below by animal control workers and was captured.

Before it was shot, workers who had followed the bear's movements placed flares below the tree and brought in a dog to keep the animal up there until it could be safely brought down.

"It's just a distraction to keep up him to stay up in the tree," Tyler said.

Authorities were concerned that if the bear climbed down on its own it could head in the direction of a nearby school or mall.

"I think it's exciting, especially for this area," said onlooker Maddie Meyerson. "However, we have seen this happen more than once in the general Bergen County area."

The bear will be taken to a northern area and released, officials said.

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