Authorities say they had to evacuate a bustling campground in the Santa Catalina Mountains outside Tucson after campers reported seeing a large bear.

Arizona Game and Fish spokesman Mark Hart said Sunday that Rose Canyon Lake, popular with anglers and hikers, is closed until officials trap the black bear, estimated to weigh 200 pounds or more.

He says a camper in a trailer awoke Sunday to the vehicle shaking, looked out the window and was eye to eye with the animal. Another camper later photographed it moving toward the lake.

Officials looking for it 30 miles northeast of Tucson spotted it at the lake’s dam.

Hart says that once it’s trapped, officials can try to relocate the bear if it’s young or female, but policy forces them to put down adult male bears.


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