Tacoma’s wandering bear has been caught sightseeing. Here’s where he’s going

A young bear that has been appearing around western Pierce County the last few days was successfully captured Wednesday in Lakewood, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Lakewood Police.

The young male bear was tranquilized after it climbed a tree in the yard of a Lakeview area home, according to the WDFW. It was found to be in good health and placed in confinement.

Initially, WDFW was monitoring the situation until the bear either started interacting with people or an opportunity arose to capture it. The latter occurred Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. after a resident reported the bear on their property.

“(WDFW) staff was in the area, ready to respond,” said WDFW spokesperson Jennifer Becar.

Lakewood Police spokesman Captain Jeff Alwine said the bear was eventually located in the 10300 block of 47th Avenue Southwest.

Tacoma residents Amy Mayster and Molly Asmussen had been following the bear saga via Ring doorbell videos. They went to the neighborhood Wednesday morning.

Mayster said wildlife personnel tried to coax or scare the bear down from the tree.

“They were trying to get the bear down for around an hour,” Mayster said.

Eventually, the pair said, an official climbed up on a roof and from there shot the bear with the tranquilizer dart.

Still, the women said, the now tranquilized bear stayed in the tree, prompting an officer to climb into the tree and push the bruin down.

The bear seemed to be a novelty for residents and responders, the pair said.

“They started taking selfies with it before they walked it out,” Asmussen said. “They thought it was pretty cool, I guess.”

The bear was loaded into a metal transport container after its health assessment.

“It’s being relocated outside the Tacoma area to some better suited habitat in the North Cascades,” Becar said.

Becar said the bear didn’t need to be euthanized as it had not become habituated to people.