Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The bear cub was tranquilised and removed without any injuries

Panicked shoppers fled a US retail park when a disorientated bear wandered into a department store and ran up and down the aisles, it has emerged.

The female black bear had apparently made its way into the Pittsburgh Mills centre through automatic doors.

"It darted past several people. They didn't even know it was a bear," shopper Matt Marcinik told local media.

The animal was eventually shot with a tranquiliser dart and taken away by Pennsylvania wildlife officials.

Image caption The bear was taken away by local wildlife officials

The young bear, weighing only about 125lb (57kg), growled at customers before getting stuck between double doors.

Workers in the Sears department store first alerted shoppers to the bear's presence.

Michelle Eckert, who was in the store at the time, said everyone was walking out casually at first.

"As we got to the exit, one employee says: 'There's a bear!' And we all look at each other, and we just run out," she told broadcaster CBS.

The entire shopping centre was then evacuated before wildlife officials were able to sedate the animal.

Experts said it was rare for a bear to make its way into a shopping centre, and they are now investigating how it ended up in the area.