LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- Another black bear came down from the high country Thursday afternoon and led wildlife officials on a wild chase through several residential neighborhoods.

The cub was first spotted in a tree at about 4:30 p.m. on the 1600 block of Pierce Avenue, near the AMC cancer research center in Lakewood, 7NEWS reported.

But the young bear was too scared and confused to sit in any place for long, taking off in several directions, across numerous back yards, and through many residential streets.

No matter which way he turned in Lakewood, Edgewater or Wheat Ridge, the cub was faced with screaming people and chased by tranquilizer-wielding wildlife officials.

"It's really amazing to see a bear on the streets," bear chaser Cody Naeb said.

"That was the first time I've ever seen a bear, pretty exciting," bear chaser Ryan Bunnell said.

Wildlife officials, armed with tranquilizer guns and sticks, chased the bear on foot and by truck for two-and-a-half-hours before they were able to dart him, 7NEWS reported.

Although officials warned homeowners to stay away from the area and to stay indoors, a crowd of people gathered in the area where the bear was running loose and taunted him, 7NEWS reported.

Several people, in fact, had a close run-in with the bear. In one instance, the bear turned the corner of a house and nearly collided with a man who had been following the chase. The man fled and the cub made a 180-degree turn and ran away in the opposite direction.

When the tranquilizer finally took effect, and the sedated bear was tied, wildlife officials decided to let a very large and demanding crowd file past the bear to see him up close.

Trying to reduce the bear's wide-eyed fear, wildlife officials put a towel over his eyes. They said that that the black cub weighed about 75 pounds, was 18 months old and very scared.

"The bear is very stressed, he's very aware of what's going on now, just doesn't have any muscle reaction," Division of Wildlife's Jerry Brinker said.

Brinker said that people were allowed to see the bear for the education of the experience.

"It's part of public education and most of these folks, it's the only bear they'll ever see," Brinker said.

Bear watcher Jennifer Tolmich explained why she took her daughter to parade past the animal.

"Just to show her something new, so she'll know what a bear looks like, in case anything happens," Tolmich said.

Numerous Wheat Ridge police officers were called in to contain the crowd, which had grown to several hundred people, 7NEWS reported.

"The Wheat Ridge Police had committed all of its limited staffing to this incident and had requested more officers to come into work," a Wheat Ridge police spokesman said in a press release. "During the incident, many citizens had made requests for service which had to be placed on a waiting list for police response."

The crowd finally dispersed when the DOW removed the animal.

After it is tagged, the cub will be relocated and sent back into the high mountains, officials said. Under Colorado's two-strike rule, if this same tagged bear is caught again, he will be killed.

Additional Resources:

• Living In Bear Country
• DOW: The Black Bear