Black bear strolls through Colorado uni campus, climbs tree, falls out

The grizzly has become a celebrity since it wandered around a university residence hall in Boulder and climbed a five-metre tree on Thursday.

Wildlife officers eventually tranquilised it, and the bear dropped from its perch on to pads placed on the ground.

The bear landed on its back before a crowd of gawking students. Some stroked its paws after it was caged.

“It was really a perfect landing,” campus police spokesman Ryan Huff said.

Rhonda Chestnutt was putting coins into a parking metre near the Bear Creek student apartments on Thursday when she felt shaggy fur brush against her legs.

Chestnutt, who works for a leadership program at the university, thought it was a large dog - until the bear looked back over its shoulder.

"It was like, 'Excuse me, pardon me, coming through,'" Chestnutt told the Daily Camera. "It was running full speed."

State wildlife official Jennifer Churchill said that the male bear was tagged and taken to a remote Rocky Mountain area of ponderosa pines, with plenty of oak brush and chokeberry food fit for a bear.