Deputies shot and killed a large bear that was found wandering around a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, officials said.
The bear was first reported Saturday morning at a neighborhood in Royal Beach.
When a deputy responded he spotted a large black bear estimated to be about 6-foot and 300 pounds.
The deputy watched as the bear made its way into a family's backyard and climbed a tree and resting for a bit before moving on.
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The bear made its way through the neighborhood and climbed another tree as more deputies and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers also responded.
At one point, FWC officers stood at the bottom of the tree to make sure the bear didn't come down until a trapper who could tranquilize and relocate the bear could arrive.
When the bear started to climb down, FWC officers and deputies started yelling and hitting nearby trees to make noise to keep the bear in the tree and it worked, officials said.
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But after hours of waiting for a bear trapper, the bear started to climb down a tree, and the attempts by officers and deputies to make noise to keep the bear in the tree weren't working, officials said.
That's when deputies were forced to shoot the bear, officials said.
"It should be noted that the bear had NO place to roam safely!" the sheriff's office said in a statement. "The incident location and surrounding area are residential neighborhoods and fearing the bear would roam into the residential communities and/or impede traffic flow on the adjacent roadways PBSO was faced with making the decision to discharge their shotguns striking and killing the bear."
