Duluth, social media go wild over black bear in tree downtown

WDIO-TVA bear became quite the tourist attraction on Wednesday morning, Nov. 2, 2016, after it was spotted in a tree in downtown Duluth. A small group of people gathered during the morning to take pictures.

When it comes to bears, Duluth police hope that what goes up will come down.

A black bear wandered into downtown Duluth on Wednesday, high-tailed it up a tree and quickly became a social media darling as crowds gathered to snap photos and videos, including the one below posted by Dan Kraker of Minnesota Public Radio.

Bears often wander through the city’s many wooded areas, said Chris Balzer, Department of Natural Resources area wildlife manager based in Cloquet.

Sometimes a hungry bruin will make its way into a neighborhood, enticed by food in garbage cans and bird feeders.

But a bear downtown is a little more unusual, he said.

“The biggest thing is for people to leave it alone and it will come down on its own and move off,” Balzer said.

It’s harder for that to happen downtown because there are too many people around, he said.

Once people go home for the night, the bear likely will scamper down and away.