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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Medford's black bear moves on ... Howard Prairie to host ODFW event ... VIDEO: Woman shares her story of self-injury ... Medford's black bear moves on ... Howard Prairie to host ODFW event ... VIDEO: Woman shares her story of self-injury ... URBAN WILDLIFE Bear in southeast Medford draws a crowd; police continue to monitor it When bruins like this one are seen in Medford neighborhoods, let them be, biologists say Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted May. 12, 2016 at 10:54 AM Updated May 12, 2016 at 6:07 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted May. 12, 2016 at 10:54 AM Updated May 12, 2016 at 6:07 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Medford's black bear moves on » Social News Medford police who are babysitting a small black bear treed behind a Stewart Avenue bar are hoping they'll awaken this morning to see the wayward bruin gone without any clashes with people. First seen Wednesday night by Medford patrol officers, the bear sat all day in a large sycamore tree cordoned off by police to keep away a steady stream of rubberneckers drawn by social-media posts about the urban bear. A bear in town "happens at least once a year," said Medford police Officer Ian McDonald, who was joined by another officer and two community-service officers on bear-sitting duty. "Unfortunately, it attracts a lot of attention. The problem is, if it comes down, no matter what direction it goes, it will run into people." State wildlife biologists recommended that police keep a close eye on it during the day, then back away at night so the bear can climb down and leave town on its own, a tactic officers plan to use. "I'll follow it with full lights and sirens out of town if we need to," McDonald said. Medford officers had hoped the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife would send a biologist with a tranquilizer gun to remedy the situation, but "it's not as straightforward as poking a bear with a dart, it goes to sleep and then we haul it away," said Mark Vargas, ODFW's Rogue District wildlife biologist. Biologists must get a good shot, hit the bear where the tranquilizer can pump into its body, then hope when it falls out of the tree, it doesn't get injured or killed, Vargas said. If the tranquilizer takes too long to take effect, the bear could run away through traffic, causing an accident, Vargas said. Tranquilized bears generally are not relocated but euthanized. The carcass is buried because the meat would be inedible because of the chemicals, Vargas said. "Chemically immobilizing the critter isn't always the best option," Vargas said. If the bear is deemed a public-safety hazard, police are authorized to shoot it. The meat then could be salvaged and donated to charity. "People don't realize that bears are in downtown all the time," Vargas said. "Occasionally, they get seen up in a tree." Bears treed in Medford have met a variety of fates over the years. Two bears were shot and killed by police in southwest Medford in 2014 because they were deemed public safety threats. In September 2009, Vargas tranquilized a bear in downtown Medford's Hawthorne Park. The bear ran through blackberries and into Bear Creek, where it passed out and drowned. A month later, Vargas attempted to trap and relocate a young bear that was discovered in a tree at the playground of Medford's Lone Pine Elementary School. That bear was tranquilized and trucked to far northeastern Klamath County. It then covered 78 air miles over the Cascade Mountains in 10 days before it was shot legally by a hunter about 1.5 miles from the east Medford school. But none drew a crowd like this one. Medford resident Kevin Wooldridge stepped away from his morning biscuits and beer at the adjacent Timeout Sports Bar to take a gander at the bear and summarily dubbed it "Buford." "Buford the Bear. Just sounds cool," he said. Later he served as tour guide to people pulling into the adjacent Dutch Bros. coffee stand, pointing out the black fuzz barely visible behind the foliage blowing in the warm morning wind. Neighbor Venita Cloud said the bear has been hanging around in the neighborhood for two days. She saw it wandering in the field with the sycamore at 2:30 Thursday morning. "It's just a baby," she said. Cloud stood along a line of police tape verbally urging the bear to climb down the tree. When told it might be killed if it did, Cloud changed her tune. "Stay in the tree, bear," Cloud said. "Stay in the tree." Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted May. 12, 2016 at 10:54 AM Updated May 12, 2016 at 6:07 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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