A black bear that spent part of Tuesday perched in a Bedford Heights, Ohio, tree besting the efforts of police, firefighters and animal control officers has finally come down and is on the run, WKYC-3 reports.

The bear had been in a tree since early Tuesday morning, according to Fox 8. Unlike in cases of other bears stuck in trees -- like the famous (and now deceased) Boulder, Colo., black bear -- officials chose not to tranquilize the animal. Instead, firefighters tried to force the bear down from the tree and into a trap by spraying water, the Plain Dealer reports.

But the water only made the 6-foot, 300-pound bear climb higher, according to WKYC.

Finally, at around 2:30 p.m., the bear came down from the tree on its own, scurrying past police and climbing a fence before making its way into the bushes, video from NewsNet5 shows.

WKYC's Dick Russ reports that hundreds of people had gathered to see the bear.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the land that today comprises the state was home to an abundant population of black bears. But by 1850 -- 47 years after Ohio became a state -- hunting, trapping and habitat destruction had killed the entire population.

In 1973, however, there was a report of a female black bear and her cubs in the area, and today there are an estimated 100 wild black bears in the state. (SOURCE)