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Elusive suburban bear captured in Phoenix

The bear is between two and three years old and will now be evaluated by a biologist before potentially being released into the wild.

By Brooks Hays
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PHOENIX, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A black bear in Arizona got a new home for Christmas. For several days the bear has been reported wandering through suburban Phoenix, but it was finally tranquilized and captured on Thursday morning by officials with the state's Game and Fish Department.

The Department of Public Safety was first on the scene, but wildlife officials weren't far behind. On the move since Monday, the black bear retreated to a suburban backyard after being hit by a tranquilizer dart at roughly five o'clock in the morning on Thursday. The homeowner wasn't home at the time.

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Though the bear sports brown fur, it is a black bear -- a species that assumes a range of colors and is generally less aggressive toward and afraid of humans. The bear is between two and three years old and will be evaluated by a biologist before it's determined whether to release the bear back into the wild or house it at a rehabilitation facility.

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