An undated image of a black bear cub in a tree from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A small black bear cub that wandered into northeast Bend on Tuesday near NE 18th Street and Cooley Road, prompting several calls to Bend Police and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, has been safely tranquilized.

Reports of the bear were first made between around 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Bend Police Department said in a news release Wednesday. ODFW said it also got reports on the bear over the previous 24 hours, but said the young bear was not a threat to people in the area.

Members of the community also flagged down officers to report seeing the bear in the area. Bend Police and ODFW responded and found bear tracks, but could not initially locate the bear.

At about 11:34 a.m., Bend Police were called to the City of Bend Utility Department on Boyd Acres Road where they located the bear cub. ODFW personnel also responded and safely tranquilized the bear.

Andrew Walch, ODFW district wildlife biologist, said the bear appeared to be a young bear, not an adult. He said it is not typical to see a bear in that area, and it is difficult to say where it came from.

Black bears are more typically seen west of U.S. Highway 97 in forested areas.

“There is nothing being done at this time, other than advising residents near the sightings to make sure there are no attractants left unsecured (pet food, garbage, etc.),” Walch said. “We do not capture bears or cougars unless there is a threat to public safety, or they are causing harm.”

According to the ODFW website, Oregon is home to about 25,000 to 30,000 black bears, the most common species of bear in North America. While they are typically black in color, they can also be brown, cinnamon or blond. Black bears are fast and agile, and they are good swimmers and climbers, preferring forests, trails, and streams.

Black bears are omnivores and will sometimes consume small mammals, but they are not usually active predators. Black bears should never have access to human food or garbage, as this only makes them accustomed to humans and increases the chance of conflict. Once they get used to people, bears can become a threat to human safety.

With school back in session and many people walking and traveling in the area where the bear was seen, police urge the community to be alert. Police ask anybody who sees a bear to not approach it but instead call the nonemergency dispatch number at 541-693-6911.

The last reported sightings of black bears in Bend happened in 2010, when two were spotted within one week. The first was a male bear, between 15 and 16 months old and 50 pounds, that was roaming in southeast Bend, before wildlife biologists tranquilized it and released it west of Crane Prairie Reservoir.

The second sighting was a 300-pound male bear in a tree in the yard of a southwest Bend home. It was also tranquilized and released near Crane Prairie Reservoir.

In July 2019, a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a black bear in Sunriver after efforts to scare it away failed.