Big Game

tranquilizers?

I recently came across a story about a buffalo that somehow wound up in a residential neighborhood in Michigan. After authorities made an attempt to divert the animal (fat chance with a full-grown buffalo, guys!), they had to shoot and kill the thing.

Of course, when something like that happens (whether it's with a deer that walks into a town, a bear too close to a school, etc) there seems to be a large outcry from angry people saying, "Why couldn't the authorities tranquilized the animal!?"

I'm not about the jump on the bandwagon because I think it's simply hard to plan accordingly for a situation where the wild animals come into human spots...BUT, it's a legitimate question. Why don't they ever tranquilize? Think about it--you very rarely read about police/authorities tranquilizing these wandering animals; they are usually "forced" to kill them. It's a shame, because the animals could presumably be released back into the wild and, if killed by a human at some point, at least it would have been done under the principle of fair chase.

Do most police not stock tranquilizers in their arsenal? Is it too difficult to successfully tranquilize an animal (ie, are there too many things that could go wrong)?

I'm very curious to hear some thoughts from people--and especially if anyone knows any specifics about tranquilizing big-game.