After the power went out on a recent Saturday morning, Kyle Stewart stepped outside to look around and talk to some neighbors.
Stewart was standing near the curb in front of his house in Virginia Beach when he saw something he never expected: A black bear strolling from his backyard and onto the driveway.
“He came and stood right in front of my truck,” Stewart said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Stewart called 911 as he watched the bear saunter away, then started going door-to-door to alert his neighbors.
“I just thought people should be aware,” he said. “I didn’t want them getting surprised like I did.”
Stewart’s May 18 sighting was one of many that’ve been reported in South Hampton Roads over the past week and a half. Most have been in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, but one local television station recently posted a video showing a bear running across Route 58 in Suffolk.
One of the first reported sightings occurred May 16, at Sparrow Road Intermediate School in Chesapeake. A sheriff’s deputy who works as a school resource officer recorded video of the bear wandering the grounds. No students were outside at the time.
On May 21, a bear was spotted ambling across lawns in the Turtle Rock neighborhood in Chesapeake. The community is off Greenbrier Road, just a short distance from Greenbrier Mall and several shopping centers.
While black bears have long been known to call Chesapeake’s Great Dismal Swamp home, they’re also frequently spotted in other parts of our region, especially at this time of year, said Peter Acker, a district biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
“The population is increasing,” Acker said. “Thirty years ago, they were only in a few parts of the state. Now they’re in every county.”
According to the wildlife department’s website, black bears can live up to 30 years, and range from 4 to 7 feet long from nose to tail. Females weigh between 90 and 250 pounds, and males from 130 to 500 pounds, depending on the time of year.
“Virginians live in bear country,” Acker said. “We’ve got to co-exist, and sometimes that means in the backyard (of homes) in Virginia Beach.”
Acker said residents shouldn’t be fearful. And as long as the bear isn’t causing any problems, there’s really no reason to call for help, he said.
“Black bears are not a threat to human health any more than any other wild animal,” he said. “A raccoon could really shred you, just like a bear could if you grabbed one. These bears are really just overgrown raccoons.”
Grizzly bears — which are not found in Virginia — are a different story, Acker said. They’re much larger and more aggressive.
“Black bears are more timid and secretive,” he said. “They generally keep to themselves and don’t cause any issues.”
When black bears come into residential communities, it’s usually to look for food, Acker said. They’re frequently known to target things like trash cans and bird feeders. And when they find a good food source, they’ll often come back for more. A black bear’s sense of smell is even stronger than a bloodhound’s, Acker said, allowing them to quickly and easily sniff out food sources.
The recent sightings in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake likely involve the same bear, Acker said. Based on pictures and videos he’s seen, the bear appears to be a “sub-adult” or half-grown. Mama bears typically start kicking their cubs out of the den by the time they’re 1½ years old, he said, leaving them to look for food on their own.
“It’s likely lost most of its fear of humans and is foraging more boldly now,” Acker said.
Residents can help keep bears from coming into their neighborhoods by waiting to put trash cans out until the morning of pickup, rather than at night, he said. Attaching latches to keep the lid secure also is helpful. Bird feeders should be removed or at least emptied, and pet food should not be left outside.
“Unless the bear is sick, injured, trapped or actively being aggressive, we let them alone,” said Chesapeake Animal Control Supervisor Jennifer Fly.
When asked what advice she has for residents when they see a bear in their neighborhood, Fly said: “Enjoy the opportunity to view Virginia’s beautiful native wildlife, but from a safe distance of course.”
Not long after he saw the bear in his neighborhood, Stewart and his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Enysa, climbed into his truck, and headed out to eat. As they sat in their vehicle, Jennifer Stewart took photos and videos as the bear stood on its hind legs and ate seeds from a neighbor’s bird feeder, then struggled to climb over another neighbor’s fence.
“Two doors from our house, just living his bear life,” Jennifer Stewart can be heard saying on one of the videos.
Mary Welch, who lives several houses down from the Stewarts, was sitting at her kitchen table and looking out the window when she saw the bear walk onto her front lawn. At first she thought it might be a dog, but quickly realized it was too big.
“He was as cute as he could be,” Welch said with a big smile. “I wanted to go out there and pet him, he was so cute.”
A few days later — and a few miles from where Welch and the Stewarts live — Andrew Lano was coming home from his night shift job at about 6:15 a.m. when he saw a bear on his street: Timberlake Court in Chesapeake’s Turtle Rock neighborhood.
“I decided to pull out my phone and record it because I had never seen anything like it,” Lano said. “He was cutting through several lawns and he was moving at a pretty fast pace. Once he saw me, he kind of picked up speed.”
When Lano noticed a jogger nearby, he lightly honked his horn to alert the man, then honked again when the man ignored him.
“He stopped for a moment in the street, then he sprinted off in the opposite direction when he saw the bear,” Lano said. “The bear didn’t pay any attention to him.”
When Lano got home, he told his mother, Irene, about what he’d just seen and showed her the video. She posted it to the Nextdoor app, quickly garnering lots of responses and comments.
The bear spotters interviewed for this story said they’re still going about most of their usual activities, but are being more cautious.
“Is this going to be the new way of life here?” asked Joann Hutt, who lives between the Stewart family and Mary Welch. “I say, no way can I get used to this. I’m scared to even take my trash out. I’m looking all around, and once I see it’s clear I run to get it (the trash can) down to the street and then I run right back.”
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
