GREENWOOD (KFSM) -- A woman found a black bear cub stuck in one of her trees. The mama bear was nowhere to be found.
Denise Hurd spotted the bear in her backyard on Dogwood Street just after 12 p.m. Monday (August 31).
"I was shocked," Hurd said. "I was like, 'Wow, I gotta go tell my dad', so I ran in the house and told my dad, 'There`s a bear in the tree.' He goes, 'There`s a bear?' I said, 'There`s a bear in the tree', so he came out and looked, and the bear climbed up the tree more, and he goes, 'Yep, that`s a bear'."
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Officers were able to help the cub out.
Myron Means, the Statewide Large Carnivore Coordinator, decided the best strategy was tranquilize the bear with a dart gun. He said this didn't hurt the animal, instead it put it to sleep for about an hour, so it could be transported. He set the bear free in the woods just south of Booneville.
"It's probably old enough to make it fine on its own," Means said. "Usually it would have another winter with mother, but I'll turn it loose in the forest, and it'll probably be alright."
The cub was likely orphaned for some reason, according to Arkansas Game & Fish. Officers said a bear in city limits doesn't always pose a threat, but you should call animal control just in case.
