Residents Use Mattress to Safely Catch Black Bear Falling ‘Butt First’ from Tree

On Mother's Day, a Traverse City, Michigan neighborhood welcomed an unexpected visitor: a 350-pound black bear, reports the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

The bear had settled into a tree on the front lawn of a home near the city's waterfront area early Sunday morning. The sight attracted an audience of curious onlookers, prompting local police and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists to respond to the scene.

Officials managed to tranquilize the bear with four darts. In a community-spirited effort, a neighbor arranged mattresses beneath the tree to cushion the bear's impending descent. The bear landed safely, falling "butt first" onto a mattress around 1 p.m., as Angela Herban, a DNR wildlife technician, recounted to the Record-Eagle.

Working together, police, firefighters, and conservation officers transferred the sedated bear into a trap for safe transport. They later released it approximately 50 to 60 miles away from the town, according to the Record-Eagle.