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WILDLIFE Medford bear teeters on line between rehab, euthanasia Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 6, 2015 at 5:02 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 6, 2015 at 5:02 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Bear cub headed to rehabbers in Idaho » Social News A small black bear captured Tuesday by state wildlife biologists after it fell out of a Phoenix-area tree is straddling the line on whether it will be euthanized or become a candidate for rehabilitation, authorities say. The bear, which is anywhere from 9 to 12 months old but weighing only a scant 14 pounds, will be shipped Wednesday to Corvallis where it will be evaluated by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for its potential candidacy for rehab, placement in a zoo or euthanization. "Right now, the bear's on the threshold," said Mark Vargas, the ODFW's Rogue District wildlife biologist. "All of those options are on the table now, assuming it's healthy and it's not habituated to people." The bear was reported Monday climbing into several trees off South Pacific Highway between Phoenix and Medford.  It was reported again Tuesday morning after it fell out of a tree, ODFW spokeswoman Meghan Duggan said. An ODFW biologist called to the scene discovered it upside down in blackberries, where it was captured, Duggan said. The bear was taken to the ODFW's offices off East Gregory Road, where it will be held in a bear transport cage overnight, Vargas said. The ODFW's policy involving human-bruin interactions and conflicts falls under the adage that a fed bear is a dead bear because once bears get used to people and relate people to food the behavior is very difficult to shake. That makes capturing and releasing habituated bears a matter of moving the conflict, not resolving it, Vargas said. "When bears are used to people, they almost always come back and cause issues with people," he said. ODFW policy is that bears under 9 months old, healthy and not habituated to people can be placed in an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-approved facility such as a zoo or sent to a rehabilitation center for later release, Vargas said. Bears over 9 months old start getting into the 30- 40-pound range and can be difficult to handle, Vargas said. Those over a year old that end up in urban areas and begin interacting with people are "almost exclusively euthanized" to reduce public-safety threats, he said. "We have to err on the side of human caution," Vargas said. This particular bear has a chance for rehab because it's so small, but that could be because of health issues, Vargas said. "It's got to be healthy," he said. That assessment will be made in Corvallis later this week, Vargas said. If it ends up in a rehab facility, the bear would be returned for release somewhere in Jackson County far away from Medford, Vargas said. But that doesn't always work, either. In 2009, a young bear was discovered in a tree at the playground of Medford's Lone Pine Elementary School just as kids were entering their classrooms that morning. 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 same east Medford school. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 6, 2015 at 5:02 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. 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