Hello everyone,
I don’t know about you, but I spent way too much time on Thursday following the exploits of a bear that decided to wander into Wilmington’s Trolley Square area. (The accompanying image is a file photo via Pixabay).
The woodland creature quickly became a social media star, complete with the hashtag #DelaBear. Along the way, a DelaBear Twitter account re-emerged from hibernation after being launched in 2016. During that year, a bear wandered into the Newark area.
For a time, patrons of the Acme Market and Brewhaha coffee in Trolley Square were asked to shelter in place while police and wildlife officers attempted to tranquilize the animal. According to one report, doughnuts were used to lure the beast, with a tranquilizer shot not working. (You can’t make this stuff up).
While Philly television station helicopters hovered overhead, Delebar displayed big-time athletic skills in leaping fences and loping along CSX railroad tracks as a train approached. The climax was a bold escape into the woods along the Brandywine.
The bear was later seen in Alapocas parkland outside the city, with no sightings reported this morning. The park is closed. Perhaps Delabear is on the way to friendlier surroundings.
Throughout the ordeal, news outlets deployed an impressive array of ground and aerial resources. Business promotions and jokes spread across the region.
One liquor store promoted its wine labels that feature bears. Winterthur Museum said the bear would have room to roam on the former duPont estate. Delaware Senate Democrats’ Twitter feed Photoshopped a bear speaking at a Legislative Hall session.
On a more serious note, a few people said the news copters and the rescue/capture effort was not good for the bear who was obviously frightened after making an ill-considered foray into the city.
Still, Delabear, at least for a time, provided some welcome relief from the depressing stories of late. I see t-shirts, hats and perhaps and a Trolley Square bear-themed pub crawl in the future.
If you live or do business in the area where the bear has been spotted make sure your garbage cans are secure, don’t leave outside food for pets and check out the stories in this edition.
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