A bear in northern Minnesota slept like a newborn babe as state officials backed off their decision to kill it, deciding instead to look at other options.

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Solo -- a black bear so-named because it lost an ear in a mauling -- was to be put down because state Department of Natural Resource officials thought it was too comfortable around humans, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Friday. The DNR began began looking at other options -- such as relocating the bear to a wildlife sanctuary -- after an uproar to putting the bear down arose, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Friday.

The bear and two cubs are hibernating in a crawl space beneath a seasonal cabin in a township in between Tower and Ely, about four hours north of the Twin Cities. If Solo were euthanized, the cubs would be relocated, the DNR said.

"(Relocation) is an option we will weigh, provided there's a reason to believe it will be a success,'' DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten said. "But we're not in any immediate decision-making mode. The bear is not going anywhere.''