Bear Tranquilized, Removed from NIH Campus in Bethesda

A bear took a stroll onto the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda and perched in a tree near the Medical Center Metro station.

A crowd gathered to watch the bear as it sat high in a tree at the entrance to NIH on Rockville Pike. Employees were notified by email that there was a bear on the campus, reports Montgomery Community Media. Then authorities tried to scare the bear out of its tree with firecracker-like devices.

Have you ever seen a bear in Montgomery County? Tell us in the comments!

After three hours, the 100-pound bear climbed down the tree and headed through the woods on the NIH campus. Maryland Department of Natural Resources police then shot the bear twice with a tranquilizer. The animal was released near the Potomac River unharmed. 

“Frankly, our goal isn’t to make sure people in Montgomery County never see a bear,” said Paul Peditto with the Maryland DNR. “We’re going to respond to these somewhat emergent situations, but generally folks in this part of the world have to get used to seeing bears. They’re not going to be as common as raccoons but our bear population is slowly growing.”

And they said over the next several weeks there could be more sightings in the area.

“This is what we’re seeing as seasonal dispersal of black bear, this is a male,” said Ken D’Loughy with the Maryland DNR. “It’s not uncommon for them to go 80 to 100 miles from the area that they were born in and this has happened over the past 10 years on an annual basis, May, June, July we’ve had a seasonal dispersal of a bear like this into this area.”

The incident kept NIH workers entertained, with someone creating a Twitter account for the bear, with observations about transit, the push to publish in scientific journals and fleeing armed police officers.

One Tweet from NIH_Bear said: “We all need more excersize. I recommend fleeing heavily armed wildlife agents up trees for a vigorous cardiovascular workout." 

And another: “Wait, @NIHDirector, you're rescinding the faculty offer? I wasn't sure, but then you had me shot, drugged, and dragged away. Typical admin.”

As young male bears look for new territories to call home, sightings have popped up across part of Maryland that don’t typically host bears. Four bears were spotted earlier this month in Ellicott City and Columbia. In the past week a young bear was rummaging through garbage cans in the Wheaton area, and a bear strolled through downtown Rockville Thursday.

Related stories:

Black Bear Sighting in Downtown Rockville

Bear Sightings Reported in Montgomery County

Multiple Bear Sightings Reported in Howard County