Bear Cub Roaming Around Duarte Captured [UPDATE]

Updated at 8:30 p.m. April 24, 2016

MONROVIA, CA -- A young bear that was was spotted Sunday afternoon in the Monrovia/Duarte area has been safely darted and returned to the wild, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The bear, a juvenile, was darted at around 4:35 p.m. at the 1600 block of Royal Oaks Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Ernest Bille of the Temple Station said.

The bear, described as a 100 to 120 pounds female yearling, was returned to the wild at around 7:30 p.m., Fish and Wildlife spokesman Andrew Hughan said. There is no danger of the mother returning to look for the cub, he said.

"A yearling is big enough to fend for itself," Hughan said.

The bear was first spotted up in a tree at 3 p.m. in the 1400 block of Royals Oaks Drive in Duarte but got spooked and ran, Bille said.

Sheriff's deputies did not find the bear again until 3:20 p.m. he said. While deputies, along with wildlife officials, try to safely capture the bear, some residents were seen out on the streets trying to get a glimpse of the cub, despite warnings from sheriff's helicopters to stay inside.

That created a potentially dangerous situation during the search for the animal, Bille said.

"We didn't know if the mother was still around looking for her cub," he said. "Please stay inside don't try to be a part of the story. It could have ended differently."

— Photo courtesy of DFW