After keeping the town of Vineland as well as NBC10 viewers on the edge of their seats, a 2-year-old black bear is back in the wild.
The animal was first spotted last Thursday in a tree near the Happy Acres Trailer Park on the 1200 block of North East Boulevard. The animal ran off however before police could catch it.
On Friday the bear was spotted running across the street on Columbia Avenue. Officials contacted Fish & Wildlife Officials to help capture the animal.
Later during that day the bear climbed up another tree near East Landis and Howard Avenue as curious onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse.
At one point police say the bear jumped from the tree onto the roof of a nearby house.
The animal gave the crowd a thrill as it peeked around the corner and walked past bedroom windows. Tara Batson snapped some pictures.
"He seemed like he was really tired, thirsty and really hot," said Batson.
Police say it's highly unusual for a black bear to be in the Vineland area and that there were sightings of other bears Thursday night, though they were unable to find them today.
Around 5 p.m. on Friday, officials were finally able to shoot the animal with a tranquilizer dart. The animal remained in the tree for a few minutes before he finally fell inside a safety net set up below.
"He did clip the side of the roof but it didn't cause any damage," said an official. "He didn't break any bones or anything of that nature."
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife say the 238-pound black bear is doing fine and they released the animal into Wharton State Forest late Friday night. The 150,000-acre space is plenty of room for the bear to roam free.
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