Be on the lookout, Garner — there’s a bear roaming around town
In the midst of a pandemic, nationwide protest and widespread social upheaval, Garner has added another complication to its list: Bears.
Police warn of several recent bear sightings along White Oak Road and one near White Oak Crossing, a major shopping center.
While no one was injured or inconvenienced, police Lt. Michael McIver urged caution.
Though the news generated some startled social media posts, biologists advise that bear activity is fairly common, even in populated Triangle cities.
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission got reports of a Johnston County bear within the last few weeks, said spokeswoman Jodie Owen.
“I would guess that it is a young male bear that is just passing through looking for a new home,” she said, “that is, a home that has suitable habitat and breeding females. Wake County is not the ideal place for either one of those.”
Wildlife officials across the state have long noted that black bears increasingly wander into human neighborhoods, especially as mating season continues through the summer.
Two years ago, a pair of them climbed into a Prius in Asheville and escaped with food left inside.
In 2013, another ambled through a back yard in North Raleigh, causing N.C. State University biologist Roger Powell to note such bears “probably wish they hadn’t made that last left turn and ended up in Raleigh.”
The wildlife commission urges people to keep clear of bears and let them pass on by themselves, offering more tips for coexisiting here: www.ncwildlife.org/bearwise.
So if anyone runs across the Garner beast, officials warn, don’t feed it, chase it, shoo it away or — above all — give it directions to Toot ‘N’ Tell.