Police have given the all-clear after black bear was spotted roaming the heart of the Canadian capital, Ottawa. Residents had been told to stay inside their homes until the animal was captured.
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The bear was first seen in the early hours of Thursday at Ottawa's Byward Market, a popular tourist destination close to the national parliament building.
Police were alerted to the animal's presence just after 3 a.m. local time (0700 UTC/GMT), Canadian broadcaster CBC said, with the caller saying that the bear had been following people.
Officers sealed off nearby streets and urged residents to stay in their homes while they tracked the animal, which had taken shelter in a nearby tree.
According to journalist Keith Bonnell, from the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, police were keen to ensure nobody put themselves at risk.
"We know the curiosity can be unbearable, but please avoid the area and allow the area to be clear and calm to bring the bear to safety," police said.
The incident attracted attention on social media under the hashtag #BywardBear. Steve Warne, morning host at the radio station TSN 1200 Radio, tweeted a picture of the animal holed up in the branches.
Forest service officials tranquilized the bear and lowered it on a rope into a portable container, before taking it out of the city. Police gave the all-clear in a Twitter message, joking that the "bearicade" was over.
Local media said the animal would be tagged and released into the wild.
The incident was the second involving a bear on the loose in the capital within a 24-hour period, the AFP news agency reported. A black bear was also seen near a hospital in Gatineau, a French-speaking suburb, before making its way back into the forest.
The black bears of eastern Canada are smaller and less aggressive than grizzlies, which live in the west of the country.
Paddington and other beloved bears in film and literature
Paddington Bear appeared in more than 20 books written by Michael Bond, who died last year aged 91. Here are other famous fictional bears in film and literature.
This little bear from Peru arrived at Paddington station with only a sun hat and suitcase in hand. The Brown family found him there and took him along, naming him after the station where he was discovered. Author Michael Bond wrote the story of Paddington Bear, which was published in 1958. After an animated series, the film "Paddington" came out in 2014 film, followed by the sequel in 2017.
Image: StudioCanal
Winnie the Pooh
Sweet, scatterbrained and good-natured - that's Winnie the Pooh. The story of this lovable bear was written in the 1920s by Alan Alexander Milne, who made Pooh the most famous bear to have appeared in children's books. After his death, the rights to the stories were purchased by Walt Disney, and movies and series soon followed. In 2006, Pooh was even given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Image: dpa - Bildarchiv
The Bare Necessities
Baloo the bear is perhaps best-known as the sweet "Papa bear" from the Disney film "The Jungle Book." Many will be familiar with his catchy tune, "The Bare Necessities," which gained fame all over the world. The 1967 animated film is based loosely on a collection of stories published in the 1900s by English author Rudyard Kipling.
Lars the little polar bear
Lars lives with his parents in the middle of ice and snow in the North Pole. There, he embarks on plenty of exciting and dangerous adventures with his pals. This children's book series was written by Dutch author Hans de beer in 1987. It also received a television show in 1992 and was made into a film in 2001.
Image: picture alliance/United Archives/IFTN
Brother Bear
Set at the end of the Ice Age in North America, a boy named Kenai kills a bear, and in revenge, gets turned into one. Hunted by his own family, he finds a companion in a little bear named Kuma. This 2003 Disney movie is heavy on motives of love, friendship and forgiveness. In 2004, it was even nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Film category.
Image: picture-alliance/KPA
A bear with fatherly instincts
In the Russian animated series "Mascha and the Bear," the bear is a retired circus animal living in a forest hut. He hopes to enjoy his quiet twilight years, but a young girl named Mascha visits frequently, bringing new chaos with each encounter. "Mascha and the Bear" is one of the most famous Russian animated series to date.
Image: Masha and the Bear Ltd
Not only famous in animated form
French feature film "The Bear" from 1988 is the most successful film to have a real bear in the starring role. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, the script is based on James Oliver Curwood’s novel "The Grizzly King." It depicts the adventures of a young bear that loses its mother and eventually befriends an older bear.