That I can even consider the black bear (Ursus americanus) for an article in a publication about urban nature is somewhat astonishing. The bear is symbolic of the wilderness, climbing trees to raid beehives and slapping fish out of the water. A bear in the city is hopelessly out of place, too big to hide under a porch or in the sewer. Two times in recent memory that a bear found itself in a New England city (Worcester, Mass, in 2002, and South Portland Maine, in May of this year), the animal was shot and killed by police. 1,2
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