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Bear Develops A Following In Denver Neighborhood

DENVER (CBS4) - A bear that became quite popular in a Denver neighborhood climbed high up in a tree Thursday had to be killed.

The bear was tranquilized by wildlife officers.

Bear (5)
(credit: CBS)

Brothers Logan and Caden Carey were visiting their grandmother's house in the neighborhood on Thursday and told CBS4 they never expected it would be like a trip to the zoo.

"I hope that he gets down safely and I wonder how he got up there from the mountains or the foothills," said Caden, who was among the small crowd that formed near the tree Thursday afternoon.

Some people brought folding chairs and binoculars to watch the bear, who mostly just slept as the day wore on.

Bear (6)
(credit: CBS)

The bear first was spotted in the southwest Denver neighborhood after daybreak on Thursday. The area he roamed around in is located near the Southwest Plaza Mall at Wadsworth Boulevard. He likely got there by following a series of creeks and greenbelts that cut through the suburbs all the way from the foothills.

Bear (4)
(credit: CBS)

Early Thursday afternoon Copter4 captured images of the bear jumping fences and walking down open space trails before it made its way up into the tree, where it got comfortable far too high up for wildlife officers to shoot it with a dart.

The bear had already been tagged by wildlife officers from a previous trip into civilization and therefore if it is captured, it will be euthanized.

"This is not his home, and I just want him to get back to his home safely," said one onlooker on Thursday.

Bear (2)
(credit: CBS)

"I've never seen a bear ever out in the wild and I've always wanted to see one so, I can't believe it's right at my address," said Shelly Guenther, another resident.

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