Polar bear gives two wildlife officers the run around on baseball

You’re outta here! Polar bear gives conservation officers the run around as she bounds between bases on baseball field before being tranquilized in Canadian town

• New York Mets star and Rookie of the Year Pete ‘Polar Bear’ Alonso seems to have inspired his creature namesake to foray into the world of baseball
• An adolescent polar bear was spotted running between bases of a sandlot in Manitoba, Canada, on October 9, as it ran away from two conservation officers
• Nonchalantly, the female bear first trots through a gap in a chain-link fence and onto the field near Churchill plaza, before noticing the two officers
• Almost teasing the two men, she playfully runs up and down the field between third and first base, before eventually the officers are able to corner her
• The officers were eventually able to successfully sedate the 200 pounder and capture it after 15 minutes 
• The bear has been taken to a holding facility, in accordance with protocol, and will eventually be relocated 40 kilometers north of Churchill via helicopter 

New York Mets star and Rookie of the Year Pete ‘Polar Bear’ Alonso seems to have inspired the creature behind his namesake to foray into the world of baseball as well after a real polar bear was seen bounding between bases at a sandlot in Canada.

The adolescent creature was spotted in Churchill, Manitoba, by shocked resident Danielle Daley, who looked up out the window from her desk on October 9 to see the white bear giving two conservation officers the run around.

Nonchalantly, the female bear first trots through a gap in a chain-link fence and onto the field near Churchill plaza, before noticing the two officers in hot-pursuit, wielding a tranquilizer guns.

Almost teasing the two men, she playfully runs up and down the field between third and first base, before eventually the officers are able to corner the hypercarnivorous creature in an adjacent parking lot.

Nonchalantly, the female bear first trots through a gap in a chain-link fence and onto the field near Churchill plaza, before noticing the two officers in hot-pursuit, wielding a tranquilizer gun

 Almost teasing the two men, she playfully runs up and down the field between third and first base, before eventually the officers are able to corner the hypercarnivorous creature in an adjacent parking lot

Daley watched on in disbelief as the officers gave the bear chase, before they were eventually able to successfully sedate the 200 pounder and capture it after 15 minutes.

‘Only in churchill mb! [sic]’ Daley remarked on Facebook. ‘Good job to conservation for keeping our town safe! This little guy has been tranquilized and sent to Polar Bear Jail.’

The bear has been taken to a holding facility, in accordance with protocol, and will eventually be relocated 40 kilometers north of Churchill via helicopter.

Bob Windsor, one of the two conservation officers shown in the video, said it’s rare to see a polar bear in residential areas during the day.

He said it’s been a slow bear season in the town but described Wednesday’s encounter as ‘a little hectic for a while’.

‘We got a call that there was a bear right in town, which is kind of unusual,’ Windsor told CBC. ‘Usually the bears that get into town are at night time. It’s fairly rare that we do get them in the day time, because they’re usually seen prior to getting into town.’

The adolescent creature was spotted by shocked Churchill, Manitoba by resident Danielle Daley, who looked up out the window from her desk on October 9 to see the white bear giving two conservation officers the run around

Daley watched on in disbelief as the officers gave the bear chase, before they were eventually able to successfully drug the 200 pounder and capturing it after 15 minutes. The bear has been taken to a holding facility, in accordance with protocol, and will eventually be relocated 40 kilometres north of Churchill via helicopter

He added that he and the other officer had difficulty cornering the bear because, though the diamond is fenced off, it has a number of gateways around the perimeter that the bear could escape through.

The rare encounter also attracted a large crowd who came out to watch the bear, forcing officers to make quick decisions in the interest of public safety.

‘In a situation like this, where there are people around, it can be dangerous,’ Windsor said. ‘You don’t want to push the bear to where there’s people, so the decision was made to dart the bear. That would be the safest thing to do.’

Bears in Churchill are waiting for the summer ice to come in on Hudson’s Bay to hunt for seal, and the town lies between the bears’ summer dens and the bay.

‘Our top priority is the safety of people, that’s the first priority that we have with the polar bear alert program. The second priority is the safety of the bear. That ranks right up there also,’ Windsor clarified.

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