Another Bear Captured in Rockland County

Clarkstown police and state environmental police have captured a black bear that that had been wandering around Nanuet today near Nanuet High School.

Police said at about 1:30 p.m. the bear was  "contained" by Clarkstown officers and Environmental Conservation police officers in the area of Church Street and DeClark Place, just a block off Route 59. The bear was captured around 2:50 p.m. from a tree at 97 Church St. after being shot with a tranquilizer gun. Police said there were no injuries connected with this incident.

Environmentals officers said the black bear appeared to be about two years old and had been tagged from a previous capture about two weeks ago in New Jersey. Although the bear fell from a tree as it was tranquilized, environmental officers say it appears the bear was not injured.

This bear clash comes less than three weeks after a bear wandered onto the nearby Pfizer campus in Pearl River. That black bear was cornered up a tree and safetly captured using a tranquilizer gun. Orangetown police said that bear was released back into the wild in Sterling Forest.

The latest bear clash started around 10 a.m. when police were notified of a bear seen in the Church Street neighborhood, according to Clarkstown Captain Michael Sullivan. In response, Sullivan said the police department notified the Nanuet school district, which then instituted a lockdown at its schools in the area.

Police also used the "City Watch" automatic telephone system to alert homeowners in the area about the bear, advising them to stay in their homes and make sure doors and windows were closed.

Sullivan said several town officers were able to scare the bear by making loud noises and chase it up a tree. Sullivan said no shots were fired in the incident other than the tranquilizer dart used to knock out the bear.

The bear from Nanuet was removed by environmental officers.