Young black bear wanders Washington D.C. neighborhood, sparking a frenzy before being captured

By ASHRAF KHALIL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A young black bear gave residents of a quiet northeast Washington neighborhood a start Friday morning when they woke to find a furry interloper wandering backyards and sniffing around garbage cans. Pictures of the bear and its capture touched off a frenzy on social media. It also spurred a healthy online debate as to whether to name it Franklin, for the street where he was captured, or Smokey — for both the iconic cartoon bear and as a testament to this particularly smoky week in Washingtonr. Human Rescue Alliance staffers were able to tranquilize the approximately 200-pound animal and load him into a huge metal crate. The young male will now receive a medical check and be released into the wild.