THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506100318
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
A young black bear on the loose in a wooded area near the Norfolk International Terminals was captured Friday evening when a meal of honey buns and a ham lured it into a trap, authorities said.
The bear was to spend the night in the trap before being moved to a safer area today and released into the wild, said Robert R. Merhige III, deputy executive director and general counsel of the Virginia Port Authority.
Lt. Rafael Garcia, operations commander for the authority police, said workers saw the bear in the Elizabeth River about 6:15 a.m. The bear came ashore, ran a short distance and disappeared in the 15-acre wooded area near the container port located off Hampton Boulevard.
At least four or five people saw the bear, Garcia said. Searchers from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries then were called in. They located tracks and other evidence of the bear's presence, Garcia said.
At about 6 p.m., a large drumlike trap baited with honey buns and a ham was set in a densely wooded area in the northern part of the terminal, about 75 feet from a dirt road, Merhige said. The door of the trap is designed to spring shut once the bear is inside.
Officials returned about 2 1/2 hours later to find the trap occupied. The captive was described as a young male black bear, 5 to 6 feet tall and weighing about 125 pounds.
Don Schwabb, a wildlife biologist with the Game and Inland Fisheries Department, checked the caged bear Friday night and said it appeared to be fine.
Garcia said the bear probably was kicked out of his home by his mother to stake out his own territory, which is normal behavior. It was believed to have crossed the Elizabeth River from Craney Island. by CNB