Bob CollinsA bear was stuck in a tree in Duluth yesterday– or maybe it was just fine up there; it’s hard to know unless you’re a bear.
Nothing was working to get the bear down. Not even a guy dressed up as a bear as part of a shtick for a local radio station.
The Duluth News-Tribune reveals why conservation officers didn’t tranquilize the bear…
Some onlookers wondered why police or a DNR conservation officer did not tranquilize and remove the bear. Tom Provost, regional enforcement officer for the Minnesota DNR at Grand Rapids, said the DNR no longer tranquilizes wild animals in such situations.
Tranquilizing drugs have a shelf life, Provost said, and can lose their effectiveness if not used promptly. Additionally, sometimes a tranquilized animal can escape, and that can pose a danger for the public, he said.
“We can’t account for a bear running around with medication in its system,” Provost said.
If the DNR wanted to have an animal tranquilized, it would have to pay another agency, such as a zoo, to do it.
Meanwhile, in Pierce County, Wis., another bear had its own problems to worry about last Saturday. It had a bucket stuck on its head, Rivertowns.net reports.
Once the bear tuckered itself out, rescuers tied the can to a truck, chopped holes in it, and poured cooking oil over the bear’s head.
It worked better than a guy in a bear costume.
