ALBANY - It wasn't the typical outcome, but the state Department of Conservation insists it was a prudent decision. In a crowded college campus setting at high noon Thursday, environmental officers felt shooting to kill a black bear was their best option.

It was a three year old black bear that was making its third Capital Region appearance in less than three weeks. Wildlife experts were hoping that tranquilizer darts and relocation efforts would change his migrant behavior pattern, but when that didn't work, they pulled out a shotgun.

It was a combination of basic black bear instincts and sad circumstance that led to the demise of the adventurous creature. During his finals days of freedom, on May 1 the bear was captured in Albany and relocated in Greene County.

We also have an update on plans for permit parking in the city of Albany.

For years, people living in the city have complained about state employees stealing their parking spots.

According to the Times Union, the common council will vote on legislation Monday night to create a new permit parking system.

But lawmakers will wait until next month to designate which streets will have restricted parking.

And it's still not clear when the system will go into effect.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the status of the eastern small-footed and northern long-eared bats to see if they warrant federal protection.

The status review announced Tuesday was launched after the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, filed a petition asking for Endangered Species Act designation for the bats and their habitat.

The wildlife agency says the bats have declined because of habitat destruction, disturbance of hibernation and breeding roosts, and white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has killed more than a million bats since its discovery in 2006.

The eastern small-footed bat is found from eastern Canada and New England south to Alabama and Georgia and west to Oklahoma. Northern long-eared bats live across the eastern and north-central United States and Canada.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)