(CNN) A 500-pound black bear prowling around a Tennessee university has been captured and relocated, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The bear was living near the Tusculum University campus in Greeneville. In a Facebook post, the agency said the bear "had become habituated to human and unnatural foods." The large bear had made a habit of eating garbage, bird seed, and pet food, and "ramped up its activity and property damage last year."
At 500 pounds, the animal is at the upper limit of a black bear's size, according to the agency.
Hoping to avoid a dangerous interaction with residents, officials with the wildlife agency and Greenville Fire Department tranquilized and relocated the bear to a remote area of the Cherokee National Forest in eastern Tennessee.
The Facebook post included a picture of an officer with the huge tranquilized animal.
Reports of nuisance bears -- those getting too close to human property or become used to eating human food -- tend to rise in April, as the bears emerge from their winter dens and search for food, the agency said.
CNN's Michelle Watson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media and CNN. All Rights Reserved.
