Drone blasting Black Sabbath was no match for stubborn bear in tree. See the encounter
An unflappable black bear defied wildlife officials’ every attempt to coax it from a tree in Colorado — including blasting Black Sabbath from a drone, video shows.
The funny saga occurred in Golden near the Colorado School of Mines campus on Tuesday, May 14, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It had gotten into trash and found food left out from the night before, and it was reluctant to leave the neighborhood, officials said.
“When you’re out on a bear stakeout, you think it’s going to be all action,” officials said. “You never think you’re going to spend at least 6 hours in a car waiting on a bear to stop sleeping and climb down from a tree. And yet…”
Video and a photo shows the bear perched high in a tree between a sidewalk and the road. It was already up in the tree when officials arrived.
“The wait begins,” officials said.
Another video shows the bear climbing down from the tree as officials try to scare it toward the direction they want it to go “so hopefully it would be uncomfortable around humans and not return to look for more trash,” officials said.
But the bear just climbs back up the tree, video shows. Officials said it was another five hours before the bear climbed down again.
This time, officials successfully hazed the bear in the direction of “wilder spaces.”
“But then it goes up another tree. Why bear, why,” officials said.
Then it was time to break out the tech, officials said. Officers in Golden flew a drone over the bear and emitted “unfamiliar noise” that sound like it came from a spaceship to see if the sounds would get the bear to climb down.
“While slightly annoyed by the drone, we decide to use music blasted at the bear,” officials said.
They blasted Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” at the bear, video shows. “Now if he starts banging his head, we’ve got a problem,” someone says.
The bear didn’t budge.
“We know based on past behavior that it’s probably not moving until dark,” officials said. “We wait until nighttime and the bear finally comes down when almost all humans are gone.”
Officials didn’t say what happened to the bear once it came down from the tree. But they did share some “takeaway lessons,” both silly and serious.
“Keep your trash inside until the morning of trash day. This bear ate trash left out in the neighborhood the night before,” officials said. “Save a bear’s life by keeping it away from trash.”
They also shared information about living in bear country and cohabitating with bears.
“Bears are cute but still very much wild animals,” officials said, then added: “Black bears don’t mind Black Sabbath.”
Golden is about a 15-mile drive west of Denver.
