Stuck Bear Rescued From NJ Turnpike Tree

Rescuers high-fived it after getting a big black bear out of a tree along the New Jersey Turnpike on Friday. It was quite a commotion for drivers and the crowd that gathered on the ground.

The bear climbed a tree near Exit 8 in East Windsor.

State Police and the Fish and Wildlife Commission decided to tranquilize the beast.

It was something to watch. Two guys -- "bear biologists" -- went up in a fire truck bucket and got close enough so that one of the men could use a sedative and a tranquilizer.

They waited for the bear to get groggy and then with the help of two more men, they grabbed the lugged the bear out of the tree, into the bucket and high-fived it.

"It was about the best way things could go," said Larry Hajna, spokesman for the state police.

The bear, a male that weighs about 300 pounds, was first spotted around 8 a.m. in the Exit 8 area and people called police.

"This is the time of year that they come out of hibernation and they come out to start feeding," said Hajna, who thinks the bear probably got startled and climbed the tree.

The bear was taken out to the nearest wildlife management area, Assunpink, and released Friday afternoon.

Nice way to cap off the week guys! We'd high-five it too :)

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