A “young black bear” is making its way through Arlington County, Virginia, in a likely search for a new home habitat, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington said.
The last reported sightings of the bear were Sunday in the Rivercrest and Bellevue Forest neighborhoods, located northwest of Potomac Overlook Regional Park.
The bear, “likely a young male” and appearing “healthy,” was first spotted by a “member of the public” on June 6, AWLA said in a Facebook post.
It said the exact locations of where the bear has been sighted will not be released, for “the safety of everyone,” explaining during past bear sightings there have been “issues with members of the public going out in search of the bear to take their own photos or see it for themselves.”
“This is VERY dangerous, and can cause harm to you, others, and the bear,” AWLA said.
This latest sighting comes after an Arlington woman’s gruesome discovery of a bear carcass stuffed in a trash bag along the Custis Memorial Trail on May 31.
AWLA said if you spot the bear, “keep to a safe distance or indoors” and contact the group at 703-931-9241.
A map of the area where the bear has been spotted is below. [google_map latitude=”38.9215″ longitude=”-77.1172″ zoom=”13″ height=”300px” location_label=”Area of bear sighting” dynamic_map=”false”]
