Nathan Phelps

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

A wayward black bear caused a stir in a west-side Green Bay neighborhood for several hours Thursday morning.

Green Bay Police responded to calls of a bear running around in a residential area near Shawano Avenue and South Locust Street at about 6 a.m.

The bear was tracked down and contained in a backyard in the 1500 block of Leo Street, just southeast of Shawano and Military avenues. Police summoned Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources personnel to help remove the bear.

"We have bears moving in and out of urban areas probably more often than people are aware of; they're just in search of food," said Jeff Pritzl, the DNR's district wildlife supervisor.

"He might have been displaced from his normal home range by another bear and is thinking 'I've got to find a new place' and is just following his nose.

"The smells are getting better and better the further I move towards Perkins and McDonald's, and then all of a sudden it's light and they're in a place they shouldn't be."

Resident Phyllis Kuffel said police woke her up around 7 a.m.

"I came to the door and there was a police officer who told me there was a bear in the neighborhood and I was to stay in the house," she said.

"We have a lot of bear up at the cottage, but not in Green Bay, on our street."

Police said the bear remained on the ground, sleeping at one point, and was not aggressive toward officers. A DNR crew sedated the animal and loaded it onto a trailer around noon.

The unharmed bear was transported to the Northwoods for release.

The incident played out in front of several dozen onlookers over the course of about six hours. A portion of Shawano Avenue was closed for several hours, but reopened as soon as the bear was loaded on the trailer.

Because the area is about a block south of Chappell Elementary School, Green Bay school officials also were notified.

Kuffel said wild animals are not a common occurrence in the neighborhood.

"About 10 or 20 years ago, we saw a deer run through here ... so this is very interesting," she said.

The state's bear hunting season is open and this bear will be given an ear tag indicating it has been treated with immobilization drugs, Pritzl said.

Officials said there have been other bear sightings in Green Bay in recent years, but incidents like Thursday aren't commonplace.

"This doesn't happen every day," Pritzl said. "This is not something any of thought we'd be doing this morning — including the bear."

— nphelps@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @nathanphelpsPG or on Facebook at Nathan Phelps Press-Gazette