An elusive black bear that had been spotted running through a field in a Phoenix suburb twice this week has finally been captured, Arizona wildlife managers said on Friday.
The bear, 2-years-old and approximately a 125-pound male, was captured in the backyard of an empty home in eastern Mesa on Christmas morning, Arizona Game and Fish Department spokeswoman Amy Burnett told KSAZ-TV.
"It climbed a 6-foot block wall fence and then promptly went to sleep, and we were able to capture it safely. It was a great, happy ending to the story," she said.
According to video footage captured by TV news helicopters on Monday, the bear was first seen bounding across an alfalfa field on the outskirts of Mesa, and then standing within feet of a game warden wielding a tranquilizer gun.
However, the bear disappeared by entering a former General Motors test site filled with fields, shrubbery and trees, Fox 10 reported.
"There are a couple of guys with tranquilizers, another guy with a cage, he is in full camo and ready to catch this thing," said Devin Burdine, who described the site as too large to search.
Residents reported spotting the bear again between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. in east Mesa on Tuesday, Burnett said.
The sightings sparked chatter on social media, including someone setting up a Twitter account for "Mesa Bear," which had more than 400 followers by Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Around 5 a.m. Thursday, authorities started trailing the animal after spotting it in a neighborhood. After setting up a perimeter, a wildlife officer shot it with a tranquilizer dart.
"It freaked me out. I was out on my front porch and I looked up and there was a bear walking down my front street," said Cory Vaske.
Meanwhile, the bear will likely be relocated to the Tonto National Forest after it's evaluated, Burnett said.
It's unknown where the bear came from or how long it had been in the area. Black bears are the only species of bears living in Arizona, with an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 of them in the state, according to wildlife officials.
