Finally, on the edge of the University of New Haven campus, a police officer was able to frighten the bear into climbing a tree. With the bear isolated, the DEP Tranquilizer Team was called to immobilize and remove the black bear. The Tranquilizer Team is comprised of DEP conservation officers and wildlife biologists with training and equipment for wildlife immobilization. The teeth of captured bears are examined to estimate a bears age. The size of a bear's paw is also a useful indicator of a bear's age.
Biologists use a makeshift field scale to determine a captured bear's weight.
Captured bears are typically ear-tagged to help with future identification. The bear had climbed approximately 70 feet above ground level, complicating the removal effort. A ladder truck from the West Haven Fire Department allowed a conservation officer to dart the bear from the same height as the animal, but 20 feet away. When darted, the bear climbed beyond the reach of the ladder truck and, as the drug took effect, settled, immobile, in a limb crotch. A platform truck from the New Haven Fire Department, which is capable of reaching higher than the ladder truck, was called to the scene.