Black bear tranquilized and removed from DC neighborhood

A back bear spotted wondering the streets of residential Washington DC on Friday morning has been tranquilized and safely removed by animal experts.   

The black bear, nicknamed Franklin, who had caused chaos in Brookland, Northeast Washington, was tranquilized by a Humane Rescue Alliance employee around 10:20 Friday morning. 

The black bear, more frequently found in the more rural parts of Maryland and Virginia, was spotted by residents wandering the streets and climbing the trees of their neighborhoods.  

Sightings were reported to law enforcement, who arrived at the bear's location around 9am, before asking neighbors to keep their distance to half a street back, according to the Washington Post. 

Franklin was sat in a tree and scratching his back on a branch, while police and the fire service waited for him to come down. 

The black bear, nicknamed Franklin, caused chaos in Brookland, Northeast Washington

'Y’all about to get him?' one neighbor is reported to have asked a D.C. police officer.

'Well,' the officer replied, 'we’re going to try to get him down.'

At around 9:50 Franklin decided to leave the tree, police blared their sirens in an attempt to keep him in eyesight. 

Police then scrambled to get intrigued onlookers to safety telling neighbors: 'It’s time to go. Secure yourselves in your homes,' he said. 'The bear is loose.'

He was soon tranquilized in a local's front yard, and placed in a secure cage after falling asleep.

Chris Schindler, vice president of field services at Humane Rescue Alliance said the bear was male and likely weighs more than 200 pounds. 

He praised authorities for handling the situation successfully including waiting for the correct equipment including the cage to arrive before tranquilizing. 

'I think it was incredibly successful. We had a great turn out and show from a multitude of district agencies,' he said. 

Sightings were reported to law enforcement, who arrived at the bear's location around 9am

Franklin was soon tranquilized in a local's front yard, and placed in a secure cage

Black bears are more populous in rural areas of Maryland and Virginia 

Black bears but are occasionally seen in suburbs especially in the summer months as youngster search for food and new territory

'Without all of those pieces, we would have had an issue.'

One resident, Miss Lilly, who saw the bear posted a video of him running  across the street and behind a home to Twitter.

'I just saw a Black Bear in DC…. 14 St, NE and Monroe….Please be careful!!!! I call[ed] 911 to make them aware and they were calling pest control' she wrote.

Paige Pearson, a spokeswoman with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, said the bear was 'probably out looking for food or his mom and just got a little turned around.'

'I would assume it just got confused and walked away,' she said. 

Then 'when everybody started showing up, he probably got scared and ran up in the tree.' 

Black bears are more populous in rural areas of Maryland and Virginia but are occasionally seen in suburbs in the summer months as youngster search for food and new territory.