Bear's Cape Cod Tour Comes To An End

The extended Cape Cod trip is over for a wandering black bear that was first spotted in the region on May 24.

Animal control officials captured the bear in Wellfleet on Monday night and transported it off-Cape, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Officials had previously said they wouldn't seek to capture the bear, but reversed course. As the Boston Globe reports:

The decision was made not because of concerns that the bear would act aggressively, but because of its celebrity status.

“We don’t think the bear is going to attack anybody,” [Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs spokeswoman Krista Selmi said], “but the safety threat is because people are actively looking for the animal."

Since first appearing in Sandwich before Memorial Day Weekend, the bear moved east, seemingly along Route 6, and there were numerous sightings as it wandered all the way to Provincetown.

Bear sightings on Cape Cod are extremely rare, and, as we reported before, wildlife officials believe the bear swam across Cape Cod Canal to get to the region.

Late Monday, "the bear" tweeted: "It was so much fun. Remember me and remember my love for Cape Cod."