Update: The bear has been tranquilized

Portland police have surrounded a two-block neighborhood of Northeast Portland where a medium-sized black bear is on the loose.

Police ordered reverse 911 calls to alert residents to remain indoors while authorities try to contain and capture the bear, a rare sight in this densely residential neighborhood.

An image of the black bear on the loose in Northeast Portland.

Police officers, armed with AR-15 rifles, are standing along NE Killingsworth Street, between NE 35th Place and NE 36th Ave. The bear is roaming between Killingsworth and NE Jessup Street. At the moment, the bear, who growled at one sergeant, is up a tree.

Asked whether he had responded to bear sightings before, Sgt. Michael Pool said, "not in this precinct." Pool said police got the first report of the bear on the loose about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday.

"We laughed and thought he was crazy, and wouldn't you know it there was a bear running around," said Pool, who said residents are being told to remain inside and keep their pets indoors.

He said the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife is en route to tranquilize the bear, who had been seen running through yards, scrambling over fences and staring at officers who flashed bright lights at him in an effort to contain him to the neighborhood.