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Bears making themselves at home in city

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Comments (8)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

(Updated 1:34 pm)

By Tricia L. Nadolny
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — With two more sightings yesterday, it’s becoming clear a black bear has moved into Greensboro, roaming backyards and boulevards — and apparently enjoying his stay.

“He has a nice-size pond full of fish, water and a wooded area to hide out in,” Keith Patterson, a supervisor with Guilford County Animal Control, said Wednesday as he patrolled the Trinity Lake neighborhood.

A bear was sighted there — near Youngs Mill Road and Clovelly Drive — about noon. Another sighting came about 90 minutes later near Carriage Run Drive and Alliance Church Road.

But those locations are nearly five miles apart, leading Patterson to believe we’ve more than one bear on our hands.

The sightings started nearly three weeks ago. Since then, animal control has been busy following up calls that now come in nearly every day.

Last Tuesday, a woman on Wiley Lewis Road spotted one in her backyard. The next day, there was another near Pleasant Garden and Vandalia roads.

“Spring and summer is definitely the season because they come out of hibernation and are in search of food,” animal control officer Leigh Anne Garrard said.

Patterson said most sightings have been from a distance, so he’s not sure if the bear is a cub or an adult. But one woman said the bear she found in her backyard appeared to be nearly 500 pounds.

Wednesday’s sighting in Trinity Lake prompted the neighborhood pool to close until further notice.

Frank Deloatch moved to Clovelly Drive about two years ago and was warned bears may wander nearby. But this is the first time that’s proved to be true.

“I’ll keep my eyes open and try to keep the neighbors informed,” he said.

Garrard said the best way to avoid finding bears in your backyard is to follow a few simple steps. Keep food indoors; pack up bird feeders; thoroughly clean grease from barbecue grills; bring garbage cans to the curb in the morning, not the night before; and avoid feeding pets outdoors.

Until things quiet down, Patterson plans to keep his schedule free.

“I know we’ll continue to get calls,” he said. “So from here on out … I’ll probably be out here every day.”

Nelson Kepley contributed to this report.

Contact Tricia L. Nadolny at 373-7028 or tricia.nadolny@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

If you see a bear ...

Go inside. Slowly. Bears usually won’t act unless provoked. They normally move on within an hour.
Don’t leave food out, or they’ll keep coming back.
For problem bears, you can call Animal Control at 641-5990 or the N.C. Wildlife Commission at (800) 662-7137.

Source: Guilford County Animal Control

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thestatelottery

July 9, 2009 - 9:57 am EDT

Keep developing all these suburban communities at a rapid pace and the bear problem will get "worse." This is only an issue because they have less and less space to go. The same thing is happening with alligators in Florida.

Highlander

July 9, 2009 - 12:48 pm EDT

The suburban "developing" that is being done is more like "destruction" in my opinion. It's a population growth problem that is only going to continue to get worse, and not just here, it's worldwide.

ginnydaley

July 9, 2009 - 10:06 am EDT

I'm from Asheville where bears in the neighborhoods is common. Just remove all food sources and they won't a reason to come or come back. Pretty basic formula that works. One thing the article doesn't mention is to keep your dogs away from the bears. A bear might take a swat at a charging or barking dog and that can mean a hefty vet bill.

bar3006

July 9, 2009 - 10:47 am EDT

This bear issue has been going on for over 1 month. Bears have been sighted all over the Northeast part of the county. However it was no big deal till they started getting close to the City.GOD forbid should a bear actually tear up something in the "CITY" Michael Jackson would no longer be top billing.
Bears have been sighted on Middlestream Rd, Turner Smith Rd, Highrock Rd,Huffine Mill rd, Apple Wyrick rd,Winfree Cummings rd, NC 61N, and Tickle rd. So what is new here other than City people are scared of bears.

Highlander

July 9, 2009 - 12:45 pm EDT

"City people"? Really?
Well as a City person, I'm not personally afraid of bears any more than the average person. The location where this bear has been seen is not really what I'd call city. It's got some new "developments", but not very close to the city limits. I agree with you that we shouldn't be so afraid of bears, but it IS newsworthy, and should have been newsworthy when it occurred in your neck of the woods. I like ginnydaley from Asheville's advice (see post above).

justified

July 9, 2009 - 12:50 pm EDT

bar 3006
You are wrong. If the world trade center happened today it would take back seat to michael jackson.

Highlander

July 9, 2009 - 1:35 pm EDT

I'm not discussing Michael Jackson or Terrorism.

The bear sighting is newsworthy. I also commented on the statement above about "development". I suspect that you and I agree that Guilford County is rapidly becoming overdeveloped. In fact, I would say we are already overdeveloped. Water resources and roads are stretched to their maximum.
You probably would like to live in the country, but there is very little left of it here in Guilford (my home county).

Mistuh_Joanz

July 14, 2009 - 10:56 pm EDT

can the bears be trained to have a taste for the flesh of crack heads and prostitutes, or to be more "P.C." those who have adopted a crack heavy lifestyle and unlawful sex workers. The bears are a work of natures finest art but here near the intersection of MLK and Florida ST the non native wild life are making things a bit of a nightmare.