Black Bear Breaks Onto School Campus
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) released a statement to Facebook on December 29th, 2019 about a black bear they had to catch after it broke in the University of Tennessee.
https://www.facebook.com/tnwildlife/photos/pcb.3157697560924483/3157690164258556/?type=3&theater
The bear was first spotted roaming around the Knoxville school grounds at 4am in the morning on Sunday, which is the home of the Volunteers baseball team. Luckily, everyone is on winter break for the holidays so no one was there. However, they definitely had to handle the situation fast and carefully.
Once the University of Tennessee Police Department (UTPD) got word about the bear they immediately called TWRA who showed up within minutes. Sgt. Roy Smith and Officer Jeff Roberson were the first to get to the scene. They tracked the bear and found it stuck in the Stadium. They then tranquilized it and safely transported it to the Foothills Wildlife Management Area in Blount County.
https://www.facebook.com/tnwildlife/photos/pcb.3157697560924483/3157690147591891/?type=3&theater
The bear weighed about 200 pounds and wasn’t hurt during the process of getting tranquilized and being transported. The picture above is UTPD Officer Bomar and TWRA Sgt. Smith posing beside the bear. The image above that one is TWRA Officer Roberson securing the bear in the trap to be transported.