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It was barely sunset when Pennington County Sheriff's Deputy Kylie Kintigh got "a once-in-a-lifetime call" Sunday evening.

Two bear cubs were on the lam from Bear Country USA. A man spotted them lollygagging in his neighbor's yard about one block away from Bear Country, which is at 13820 U.S. Highway 16.

Kintigh's job was to wrangle up the bears and keep them in sight until Bear Country workers could round 'em up and take them home.

For Kintigh, the daughter of South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Regional Supervisor Mike Kintigh, this was as exciting as the times she spent with her father tracking down wildlife.

"I have had some cool experiences with other wildlife like bobcats and mountain lions," Kintigh said. "I was looking forward to see how this would turn out."

Turns out, the cubs were just as intrigued by Kintigh, following her around and checking out her squad car. "I don't know if they were searching for a new mama bear or what," she said, estimating that the baby bears probably weighed about 75 pounds each.

And while the curious cubs didn't get to play with the lights and siren on Kintigh's cruiser, one did try to climb onto the hood.