A bear briefly shut down US Hwy 191 west of Douglas on Sunday.
According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, they worked with the Douglas Police Department, Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Border Patrol drove off the over 200 pound bear that had climbed two utility poles on the edge of town.
The bear scattered a crowd of two dozen onlookers when it climbed down from the first pole.
Patrol vehicles were used to haze it westward after it climbed down from the second.
The bear is presumed to have been spooked up the first pole when vehicle and pedestrian traffic increased at daybreak.
Utility company, Arizona Public Service (APS) stood by as the bear risked electrocution had it climbed much higher.
Experts say the bear’s tracks indicate it may have headed in from the Mule Mountains.