Bear breaks trampoline when it falls from tree

A black bear that wandered into a Highlands Ranch neighbourhood has been tranquilized and moved to the foothills. A resident on Ramshead Court heard dogs barking about 9 a.m. on Friday, so he glanced out the window and thought that a big tree branch had broken.

"Then I started focusing and saw a big bear claw. And then I called neighbours and told them to get their dogs in and their kids because we have a lot of kids in the cul-de-sac," Rod Michotte said. "I heard the panic in his voice. I kind of panicked and I thought, 'What's going on?' And he said, 'Look out the window! There's a bear in the tree!" said next-door neighbor Diana Navo.

Michotte then called his wife at work and told her what was happening. "I said, 'Get off the phone and call 911!'" Cindy Michotte said. "It completely freaked me out, of course. I knew the kids would be playing out here today."



Douglas County deputies notified the Division of Wildlife and kept an eye on the bear until wildlife officers arrived. "He was sitting in a tree for a long time, just kind of moving around, but not really attempting to get down or anything," said Cindy Michotte.

DOW officers shot two tranquilizing darts at the 150-pound black bear, and it fell onto the family's trampoline, severely bending it.

"The kids aren't happy. It broke the trampoline when he fell, but he was about 30 feet into the air. It looks like it came out alright. It's a little more excitement than I anticipated this morning," Rod Michotte said. The animal was then removed from the back yard and placed in a bear container to be taken to the foothills and set free. DOW agents estimated the bear was 2 years old.

With news video.