U-BEAR RIDE: Stranded — and stubborn — cub relocated from Kanata woodlot
Blair CrawfordMore from Blair Crawford
Published:May 30, 2020
Updated:May 30, 2020 8:20 PM EDT
After six hours or so lodged in a tree, the cub was safely transferred into a trailer and relocated for release back into the wild.
A groggy cub received an “U-bear” ride home Saturday after being tranquilized by National Capital Commission conservation officers in Kanata.
The cub was spotted in a tree in a woodlot near Terry Fox Drive and Kanata Avenue at around 12 noon. As Ottawa police stood watch and directed traffic, NCC conservation officers arrived with a bear cage, but the bear was in no hurry to come down from the tree and a gathering crowd of onlookers made the already rattled cub stay aloft.
National Capital Commission conservation officers, Ottawa fire and Ottawa police all came together to get a bear out of a tree and relocate it from Terry Fox Drive in Kanata on Saturday. Ashley Fraser / Postmedia
The conservation officers had to fire several tranquilizer darts to put the bear to sleep, but even then it clung to the tree and couldn’t be dislodged. An Ottawa Fire Service aerial ladder was brought in and firefighters used a hose to spray the bear from various angles to try to dislodge it. No luck. Finally, a firefighter used a pole to prod the bear awake and around 6 p.m. it climbed down from the tree on its own. The groggy cub was then netted and carried to the waiting bear trailer before it was taken to an undisclosed location for release.
The bear rescue came one day after first responders were called to a moose loose in an Ottawa South swimming pool. That animal escaped on its own and bounded into a forest near Hunt Club Road and Uplands Drive.
There’s a small celebration after the wandering cub is safely transferred into a trailer. Ashley Fraser / Postmedia
The NCC, Ottawa fire and Ottawa police all came together to get a bear out of a tree and relocate it from Terry Fox Drive in Kanata on Saturday, May 30, 2020. ASHLEY FRASER, Postmedia Ashley Fraser / Postmedia
The NCC, Ottawa fire and Ottawa police all came together to get a bear out of a tree and relocate it from Terry Fox Drive in Kanata on Saturday, May 30, 2020. ASHLEY FRASER, Postmedia Ashley Fraser / Postmedia
