BOONEVILLE (KFSM) — A mama bear and her two cubs decided to find a nice tree in which to relax. Unfortunately, the tree happened to be in the middle of a Booneville neighborhood.
The bear and her two cubs are in a tree on Eighth Street, but officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are asking people to avoid the area so they can get the bears down safely.
The woman who lives at the home said she heard her dogs barking late last night. When her husband went outside to check on what was going on, he saw a bear's face staring back at him.
The woman called Game and Fish, and they told her to let the bears be, and they should come down on their own.
Game and Fish officials said the bears are too high up to be tranquilized, because they could get hurt if they fell from the tree, especially the cubs.
Dustin Reynolds was riding his dirt bike through town when he spotted a large group of people staring at something in the trees.
"I seen everybody's looking up at the trees, and I thought, 'hmm, I wonder what it is,' and it's a mama and her two cubs," Reynolds said. "They've been spotted in town before. They were back by the coal plant, and they just migrated over here, I guess."
Game and Fish officials said there is a stream about two blocks away, and the bears should travel back there on their own tonight.
Officials then reiterated that people should stay away from the bears so they can remain calm and can travel back to their original location tonight.