A 200-pound male black bear leaves a trap and heads for the woods in the Oregon Coast Mountain Range west of Carlton Thursday after being released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. -Photo by ODFW- Download high resolution image

CLACKAMAS, Ore. – Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists today released a bear captured yesterday after roaming in a field next to Tualatin Elementary School.

The bear was released into an aspen grove in the Oregon Coast Range Mountains west of Carlton at approximately 11 a.m.

The bear appeared a little groggy but overall was in good condition when it stepped out of the trap where it had been held captive since the previous day when it was treed in a Tualatin neighborhood. Biologists wanted to make sure the bear was in good health before it was released into the wild.

“We’re glad there was a happy ending to this story,” said Don VandeBergh, wildlife biologist for ODFW’s North Willamette Watershed District.

The release site in the Oregon Coast Range was selected for an abundance of food, water and cover, according to VandeBergh.

See video of the bear release -Video by Rick Swart, ODFW-

The 3- to 4-year-old male bear was first seen early in the morning in the neighborhood surrounding Tualatin Elementary School Wednesday and was reported to police at 5:45 a.m. The bear then went onto the athletic field of the elementary school, prompting a school lock-in and closure for the safety of students, faculty and the bear.

ODFW and law enforcement staff from Tualatin and Tigard Police Departments, Washington County Sheriffs, and Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division responded to the situation. Law enforcement officials helped corral the bear to keep it on the school field and out of the surrounding neighborhood.

ODFW staff darted the bear with a tranquilizer gun after it climbed a tree in the neighborhood across the street from the school.

###