A 700-pound Syrian brown bear has been returned to its home after escaping from a zoo south of Niagara Falls.
Niagara region police were notified shortly before midnight on Tuesday that the bear escaped from the ZooZ Animal Zoo on Stevensville Road in Stevensville.
More than two dozen police officers, emergency services units and the Fort Erie fire department scoured the area for the animal.
Employees from ZooZ Animal Zoo and a local veterinarian were also in the area assisting authorities.
Police warned nearby residents not to approach the bear and to contact authorities if they spotted the animal.
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