The black bear presumably looks something like this. Via Shutterstock.

Second update: The bear has been tranquilized and is currently being carted away:

Update: The bear is down from a tree and now Maryland Department of Natural Resources employees are apparently chasing it around with tranquilizer guns. No, seriously:

Original post:

There’s a black bear hanging out in a tree on the National Institute of Health campus in Bethesda right now:

According to the Rockville Police Department, officers responded to a bear sighting near downtown Rockville earlier this morning and have been attempting to direct it away from residential areas and “toward rural land in the direction of I-270.” Apparently, it’s now found a new temporary home in a tree on the NIH campus. The bear, which is about 150 pounds, police say, doesn’t pose a threat to life or safety.

Though bear sightings in Montgomery County are rare, authorities say it’s “relatively common” for a black bear to be spotted “pushing south into Montgomery County from more rural northern areas.” Over the past few years, local police and animal control have responded to several bear sightings in areas in Montgomery County, though the bears don’t typically stick around long as “they find places like Rockville not conducive to settling down in.” Hey, just like millennials!

Eric Over, a lieutenant with the RPD said in a release that “the bear has made no aggressive movements” and police just “want it to get back to its natural habitat.”. They’re doing so by trying to spook it with loud noises, but have no intentions to kill or harm the bear.

Authorities are currently tracking the bear’s movements, but if you ever happen to see another one in that area, call Rockville Animal Control at (240) 314-8900.

And of course, the bear already has its own Twitter parody account:

Filed Under: animal sighting, bear, black bear, rockville,