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The bear was first spotted wandering in Albany through Washington Park, near State Street and Sprague Place, at around 5:30 a.m., according to Albany Police spokesperson Steve Smith.
Officers eventually spotted the animal in a tree, prompting the closure of State Street from Sprague Place to Henry Johnson Boulevard, Smith said.
At around 12:30 p.m., Smith tweeted that crews from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) were on scene preparing to chemically immobilize the bear.
“Once that happens, the bear will fall into safety nets and be medically evaluated,” Smith said.
Roughly an hour later, Smith tweeted that crews had successfully removed the bear from the tree and it was being medically evaluated.
The plan was to release the animal back into the wilderness of the Catskill Mountains, Smith said.
Tuesday’s bear sighting came just days after a black bear was spotted roaming through Albany’s Graceland Cemetery, located two miles away on Delaware Avenue.
Black bears are rarely seen by most New Yorkers, but have increasingly been spotted in semi-rural environments, agricultural areas, and sometimes urban centers, according to the DEC.
Officials advised anyone who encounters a bear to not approach the animal and call 911.
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