Young black bear in Coeur d'Alene darted, returned to the wild

COEUR d’ALENE — A young black bear roaming Coeur d’Alene neighborhoods was captured Thursday and safely returned to the wild. 

“We'll take him a long way from civilization and into the forests where there’s a bunch of huckleberries,” said Mark Rhodes, regional conservation officer with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 

Reports of the bear in town began coming in early Thursday afternoon. It was spotted trotting across streets, venturing into yards and walking on sidewalks. It didn’t bother anyone, but many were worried it might be hurt. 

“It just concerns people when there's a bear running around town,” Rhodes said. 

Fish and Game sent out several staff members to try and find it. Rhodes said the small bear, about 3 years old, wound up in a tree on Fourth Street and Kathleen Avenue near the Coeur d’Alene Church of the Nazarene. 

Fish and Game officers and biologists, backed up by a law enforcement, darted the bear about 5:30 p.m., and it fell asleep a few minutes later. It fell about 25 feet into a large cargo net held by the officers on hand. 

“We get a little bit of practice at it,” Rhodes said. “This one went perfectly.” 

Rhodes said the bear wasn’t hurt and was in “super good shape.” He said it should have woken up about 90 minutes after being darted. 

He said the bear was docile. 

“He just wanted out,” Rhodes said. 

The situation gained a lot of attention on social media. Some of the comments included: "We scour Yellowstone for a bear and find nothing. In the meantime, one’s trotting down the road near home." 

“Ran right in front of us. Smallish, but old enough to be without mom. Looked pretty stressed, like me, about all this traffic.” 

“Oh my gosh save the bear and take it back to where it belongs! People leave it alone and let fish and wildlife do their job!” 

“Can we go pick him up?” 

Rhodes said they get reports of a black bear in town maybe one or two times a year. 

“It’s not terribly unusual,” Rhodes said.