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The bear was tranquilized a little after 11 a.m. (Graham Moomaw\/The Richmonder)<\/p>\nWhen Braden Cmeyla woke up to a small black bear pacing around the back porch of his Oregon Hill home, he said he knew exactly what he needed to do: Get a promotional picture for a cookout he and his bandmates are throwing Saturday.<\/p>\n
Mission accomplished, he said, showing off a close-up shot of the bear looking up into his kitchen window.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks fantastic,\u201d he said. \u201cI wrote, \u2018Be there or eaten by bear.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A team of VCU police, state wildlife officials and city animal control officers spent most of Thursday morning containing the animal in Cmeyla\u2019s back yard on Pine Street while waiting for a state animal biologist to arrive with tranquilizers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After four hours of blowing whistles, clapping and shaking rakes at it whenever it started to look like it might wander off, officers hit the animal with a tranquilizer dart, loaded it into a bear trap and drove it away just before 11:30 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bear was tranquilized a little after 11 a.m. (Graham Moomaw\/The Richmonder)<\/p>\n
Wildlife officials on the scene estimated the bear was about a year and a half old and weighed roughly 100 pounds.<\/p>\n
Each spring, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, young male bears get kicked out of their dens by their mothers and go out on their own looking for their own territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no longer just a rural thing. Here in Richmond, we love our James River Park System,\u201d said DWR spokesperson Shelby Crouch. \u201cI\u2019m a city resident. Love it. And you know what else loves it? Wildlife loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crouch stressed that wild animals are not pets no matter how non-threatening they might seem. People who encounter bears, she said, should steer clear and never attempt to feed them.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t fully clear what route the bear took to get to Oregon Hill. What he was looking for, Crouch said, was a good habitat and food.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we have in an urban area? We have trash cans. VCU students are moving out right now,\u201d Crouch said. \u201cSo we have all kinds of stuff lingering around in the area that would cause him to say \u2018Maybe this might be a good spot.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The tranquilization went smoothly, wildlife officials said, with the sedative taking effect after about a minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll start waking up in a few hours. This afternoon the biologist will give him some water and start flushing his system,\u201d said Lt. Joshua Thomas with DWR\u2019s conservation police.<\/p>\n
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Photo courtesy of VCU Police<\/p>\n
After a health check-up, wildlife officials said, the bear was released Thursday evening at an undisclosed Wildlife Management Area<\/a> nearby, close enough that he won\u2019t feel too far from home. The bear was alert and appeared to be in “good health,” according to officials.<\/p>\n Reports of bear sightings began rolling in last night, with one Reddit user sharing a video<\/a> of a bear roaming the Maymont neighborhood. Sightings began in Oregon Hill early this morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe bear was pretty chill,\u201d said Romain Lheritier, a Fan resident who spotted the animal near the intersections of South Laurel and Albemarle streets while running a little after 7 a.m. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to think they are dangerous because they look so fluffy and nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Video courtesy of Romain Lheritier<\/p>\n Laura Thompson heard a \u201cthump\u201d outside and initially thought it was her cat, Cucumber.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then I was like, well that sounds too heavy to be Cucumber,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI just kind of dismissed it. Then we saw a fire truck pull up.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson\u2019s neighbor, Lydie Blundon, said they nicknamed the bear Zucchini.<\/p>\n \u201cZucchinis are often confused with cucumbers,\u201d Blundon said. \u201cSo, Zuke and Cuke.\u201d<\/p>\n The bear spent most of the morning in the back yard of the Pine Street home where Cmeyla and his roommates were excited to have gotten photos of the animal they could use to promote their upcoming cookout. The group, who play in an indie band called Celler Dwellers<\/a>, called the bear extremely cute.<\/p>\n In a video the group took from their kitchen window, they express amazement that \u201cit\u2019s just chilling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Video courtesy of Joe Corbett (Warning: The video contains strong language)<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy that it appreciates the porch,\u201d one housemate says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s chilling on the porch, and that\u2019s what you can do at our cookout on Saturday,\u201d another says.<\/p>\n Nearby, Pine Street Baptist Church was offering a meal for the homeless as the standoff unfolded.<\/p>\n The church’s pastor, Philip Turner, said he\u2019s seen plenty of deer and possums in the neighborhood. But the bear, who spent some time behind the church\u2019s generator, was a first.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just not what you expect to see,\u201d Turner said. \u201cIt\u2019s more laughter and excitement. Like kids at a zoo. Nobody\u2019s really been fearful.\u201d<\/p>\n Church patron El Sharrieff said he wasn\u2019t that bothered by the young bear, he was worried about \u201cthe mama.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like animals too,\u201d Sharrieff said. \u201cI just don\u2019t like animals biting me in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n The pastor jokingly asked him if he wanted to invite the bear in for breakfast.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to BE the breakfast,\u201d Sharrieff said.<\/p>\n Contact Reporter Ned Oliver at\u00a0noliver@richmonder.org<\/a><\/p>\n Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at\u00a0gmoomaw@richmonder.org<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up for The Richmonder<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_8619.jpg\")
The sleeping bear was put in a trap and trucked away for a health check. (Photo courtesy of Lydie Blundon)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A86E1B83-55BF-482F-A46F-70870E8BE28A.jpeg\")
Local officials make a plan on how to remove the bear from Oregon Hill. (Ned Oliver\/The Richmonder)<\/p>\n