A homeowners association in Charlotte issued a warning Friday after a bear visited the wooded neighborhood near Mallard Creek Greenway.
“All neighbors, take note,” the Wellington HOA in northeast Charlotte warned in an email.
The Charlotte Observer obtained a copy of the email, which the HOA said contained a photo of a bear in the woods near a homeowner’s outdoor patio.
Where the bear was spotted
The bear appears to be a young male black bear.
A neighbor spotted the bear near Saxonbury Way, and another resident reported the bear near Garden Grove Lane in the neighborhood, the HOA said.
“911 was called to warn in the interest of public safety, etc.,” the HOA said in the email.
The homeowners’ association did not mention any reports that the bear would be a nuisance. That’s about the only time a state wildlife official would respond, said N.C. Wildlife Resources Officer Sampson Parker.
On Saturday, Parker said he would be “fairly confident” the bear was the same one people reported swimming across Lake Norman last month.
These sightings occurred about 15 miles west of Friday’s report in northeast Charlotte, a hop, skip and jump in terms of bear travel.
The Lake Norman bear was likely the black bear spotted a few weeks later in western Mecklenburg, Parker previously told the Observer.
“Unfortunately, it sticks,” Parker said Saturday. “I’ve never seen anyone stay that long,” and he doesn’t know why.
Most of the young male bears seen in the region in recent decades were just passing through this time of year, he said.
Young male bears seek out territories that are much more expansive and isolated than the Charlotte area, he said. They usually end up on the coast or in the mountains.
Parker said that unlike grizzly bears and other brown bears, black bears are unlikely to attack humans. The bears run away when they pick up someone’s scent, he said.
“They look big and bad, but they are not known to be aggressive animals,” he said.
Keep bears out of your garden
Leaving trash out overnight can attract bears to your yard, as well as food left in bird feeders, wildlife experts say. So don’t do it.
Also be sure to clean your grill and don’t leave candles and anything else with a scent outside or near open windows, advises Bearicuda.com.
Black bear attacks on humans “are rare” because the bears “are rarely aggressive,” according to BearWise.org, which the NC Wildlife Resources Commission references on its black bear site.
If you see a bear, stay still before the animal spots you, BearWise advises.
Admire the bear and then walk away quietly, according to the site.
If a bear sees you, never run away, BearWise urges. Instead, “slowly back away in the opposite direction and wait for the bear to leave,” the site says.
Keep your dog on a leash during walks, according to BearWise.
