Rare Bear Sighting In Warminster Township

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — It's not every day that a bear winds up in the township.

But a black bear showed up in the Speedway of Warminster Community Park the day after the Fourth of July.

Police Chief James C. Donnelly III said the Warminster Township Police Department was ready for it.

The chief said that police officers monitored the bear and tracked it to a backyard in the 300 block of Olive Street.

That's when the Pennsylvania Game Commission sprang into action.

The Game Commission was able to safely tranquilize the bear and relocate the animal to a more appropriate environment.

While Warminster is a rare place to spot a bear, Pennsylvania is within the black bear’s North American habitat range, which means that bear sightings can occur, especially during the summer.

Donnelly thanked residents in the Speedway neighborhood for their patience as officials went about the process of capturing the bear.

The Warminster Township Board of Supervisors thanked Donnelly and the police department, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission for their work in safely capturing the black bear.