Yellowstone park officials were stunned today when..

I am guessing the bear was up a tree and they felt the need to remove him/her from said tree.

Was the bear harming anyone?

They must have tranquilized in the tree and they had to catch him.

Wandering around the village, I would just stay inside and watch with fascination. But then I am fascinated by most wildlife.

around Yellowstone, in and among the visitors, most notably the elk and buffalo and they can do damage too. A bear up a tree is looking for food, like berries, fruit, nuts or honey and they aren't interested in anything else at that time.

I don't know where this is; but, the presence of a police officer, and the curbed streets make me think this might have been a residential area, near a national park.

In the last 20 years, Yellowstone has changed its bear policy. They no longer let the bears roam open dumps for food. The reason for this has to do with their interaction with people. If they get too close and comfortable with people, they lose their instinct to run off and avoid contact. This opens up the possibility of people accidentally surprising a bear...which could lead to an attack.

And if a bear attacks a human, it will be killed. Even if it is captured alive, it will be put down.

This bear may not have been hurting anyone that very moment; but, its presence so close to people means it is a pseudo tame wild animal...possibly headed for a confrontation. The most humane thing they could do for the bear is move him back to the wild.

This is why