NAPANEE – Folks in Greater Napanee got quite the surprise Thursday morning when a bear was found perched high up in a tree behind the Kawartha Credit Union office, just off Centre Street.
The black bear, which staff from Sandy Pines Wildlife identified as a young one likely born in 2025, was spotted in the tree earlier that morning, according to a credit union employee.
Ontario Provincial Police arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area with yellow caution tape to keep onlookers from getting too close to the bear.
“We’re hoping to just keep him in the tree,” OPP Const. Ryan Coens told the Whig while watching over the bear. “He just wandered up there and he’s a little more nervous now, with more commotion.”
An Ontario Provincial Police officer talks on the phone while keeping an eye on a black bear high in a tree behind the Kawartha Credit Union office in the middle of Napanee on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Meghan Balogh / The Kingston Whig-Standard
Coens mentioned that staff from the Ministry of Natural Resources office in Peterborough were on their way to safely relocate the bear.
“The MNR wants to get him safely out of there,” he said. “They’ll probably use a lower dose of tranquilizer, as their natural instinct is to get to ground level when they feel tired. So he’ll naturally shift himself down the tree.”
Kelly Fraser from Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre was at the base of the tree assisting.
“We’re trying to make sure he stays up in the tree until MNR gets here,” she said. “They’ll come and immobilize him and probably treat him since he looks pretty dehydrated.”
Nearby, Giant Tiger’s parking lot was filled with people watching from a distance, and Fraser noted that it seemed like the bear’s nerves were wearing thin.
“He’s scared,” Fraser said. “There’s a lot of people. The OPP have been doing a really good job at keeping the crowd down because they know it’s important to keep him calm; as he gets more agitated, it becomes more stressful for him and increases his dehydration.”
As of Thursday afternoon at 2 p. m., police and bystanders were still monitoring while waiting for MNR’s arrival.
A black bear hangs out in a tree behind the Kawartha Credit Union office in downtown Napanee on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. The treed bear was encouraged to stay aloft while being closely guarded by Ontario Provincial Police officers and Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre staff for several hours until help arrived from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources office in Peterborough who planned to tranquilize and safely remove it from town. Meghan Balogh / The Kingston Whig-Standard
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