There was no option that would have ended well for the bear. It was at that time we made the determination to immobilize him. He happened to be contained in a tree, in a walled yard of a residence in Brookline, a spot conducive to immobilization.

Our animal response teams have a protocol to follow. No. 1 is crowd control. No. 2 is we try to get the animal to move. No. 3 is immobilization. No. 4 would be to euthanize the animal. That’s only a last resort, when there’s a threat to public safety. From 2009 to June 30, 2012, we had 1,134 calls for bears, and 15 were immobilized. Of those 15, none were euthanized.