The black bear looks around before leaving its transport trap.

PHOENIX - A black bear that was captured following a chase through Tucson earlier this month has been released by the Arizona Game and Fish Department into a remote area north of Phoenix.

"Every day, we have to make difficult decisions about how best to manage the wildlife in our state," says Mike Senn, the department's assistant director for field operations. "This particular bear seems to have wandered down into Tucson from the Santa Catalina Mountains for unknown reasons. We had no reason to believe the bear was habituated to urban areas or interested in the many unnatural food sources our cities provide. It seemed to be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After weighing the facts, we decided to give him another chance to live the life of a normal bear in a wild area."

As Mike Senn looks on, the black bear trots away.

Before being released, the bear was fitted with a high-tech GPS radio collar that officials will use to regularly track its whereabouts. The collar uses global positioning system (GPS) information to record the bear's location every five hours. Department biologists can fly over the bear to upload the data once a month. The bear's location can also be monitored using traditional radio telemetry at any time to determine the bear's location.

Information about the bear's location over time will allow the department to monitor the bear's movements as it settles into a new territory. The collar itself is designed to fall off within two years, after providing the department with enough data to confirm that the bear is not interested in returning to urban areas.

"Based on the bear's behavior to date, we expect that it will go on about its normal life and stay out of urban areas," says department research biologist Stan Cunningham. "But to make sure the bear remains in its natural environment, we are going to keep tabs on its whereabouts pretty closely, especially at first."

The bear was first spotted in Tucson's Udall Park early in the morning of June 8. Since its capture, the bear has been kept at a licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility. While there, the bear underwent a complete physical exam, which found it to be an older adult male weighing more than 300 pounds. The bear did have an abscess on its back, which was drained and flushed. A broken tooth was removed and the bear's fur was cleaned of entangling burrs.

"One of the most important things people can do to prevent bears from being lured into and remaining in urban areas is to keep garbage cans in secure locations until the day of collection," Senn says. "People should never under any circumstances attempt to approach bears that have wandered into urban areas."

Black bears are occasionally seen in the Tucson area, even in residential areas. Anyone who sees a bear near their house should contact the department. If the bear poses an immediate threat, the person should call 911.