This week in odd news: Pelicans crash graduation, man mixes up Jersey and New Jersey

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A young black bear that's been roaming around New Jersey residential areas has been tranquilized and is out of a home's tree.

Crews managed to tranquilize the 1 ½-year-old male bear Tuesday afternoon as it sat on a low tree branch near a home in Ridgewood. They caught it in a net.

Earlier, it had been running around near a school's baseball field, and on Monday it was seen napping in a tree in neighboring Paramus (puh-RAM'-uhs).

Animal control worker Carol Tyler says the bear is at an age where its mother would kick it out, but it's not old enough or strong enough to take its own territory. They guess the animal was drawn to the area by the smell of food.

It will be transported to western New Jersey, likely near the Delaware Water Gap.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Authorities say a man sent to state prison for bank robbery has robbed the same Cleveland bank branch the day after his release.

Federal prosecutors in Cleveland say 40-year-old Markiko Sonnie Lewis was indicted Tuesday on a single count of bank robbery for robbing a Cleveland Key Bank branch April 12. Prosecutors say he took just over $1,000.

Lewis, of Maple Heights, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County Common Pleas Court in April 2016, including time already served, after pleading guilty to robbing the same bank branch in November 2015.

He was released April 11.

Court records indicate Lewis hasn't been assigned an attorney.

BOSTON (AP) — An American college student who didn't know the difference between the U.S. state of New Jersey and the British Channel Island of Jersey is clear about the distinction now.

Joe Hill, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, returned Sunday from a vacation on the island off the coast of France that was paid for by Jersey residents.

The Boston Globe reports it started when Hill joined a Facebook group called "Good or Bad Jersey Businesses" he assumed was about the U.S. state.

He posted a comment on the page that garnered 1,500 likes.

Jersey resident Alex Dolan saw it and launched a crowdfunding effort that raised enough money to bring Hill and his girlfriend to the island.

The couple was fed, housed and shown around for free.

Hill called Jersey residents "super friendly."

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The pungent smell of the rotten durian fruit at an Australian university library has been mistaken for a gas leak, prompting an evacuation of the building.

Specialist crews wearing masks searched the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology university campus library on Saturday, but all they found was rotting durian in a cupboard.

About 600 staff and students had cleared the building.

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said the smell alarmed staff and students as it permeated the air-conditioning system.

Durian is a tropical fruit known for its strong smell. It is commonly banned from hotel rooms and public transport across Southeast Asia.

TROY, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit police department has created a new rank of "pawfficer" for the cat that has joined the force.

The Troy police department announced Tuesday the kitty will be named Badges. That was the winning name from a Twitter poll, narrowly beating out Donut.

The department added the cat to its ranks last month after auditioning five felines from the Michigan Humane Society.

Badges will be used for therapeutic purposes and make public appearances. A Troy officer who has two cats at home is getting a new four-legged partner.

Sgt. Meghan Lehman says the department is receiving gifts in the mail for the cat every day, including two boxes of cat toys and supplies on Monday.

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — A pair of pelicans majoring in curiosity crashed a graduation ceremony at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

The brown, dive-bombing birds joined the class of 2018 on Saturday as graduates were receiving diplomas on a lawn overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

A video shows one of the big birds landing among seated observers who managed to toss it back into the air, only to have it land on a red carpet at the center of the ceremony.

One bird snapped its long beak at the hand of an official who tried to grab it.

Eventually both birds were shooed away and waddled off.

STOCK ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who allegedly slapped the water near a group of mating manatees has found himself being slapped with a harassment charge.

A Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report identifies the culprit as Luis Miguel Perez, a 49-year-old fisherman in the Key West chain.

The Miami Herald reports that Officer Glen Way used his phone to record the fisherman. It's illegal to poke, prod, pursue or feed manatees in Florida, and that includes giving them fresh water, splashing or making excessive noise.

Mary Stella with the Dolphin Research Center says harassment is defined as "anything that alters the animal's natural behavior."

According to Monday's arrest report, there were 16 manatees in the group. The fisherman was charged with a second-degree misdemeanor.

It's unclear whether he has a lawyer.