Photo contributed by Sandara Scott.

Editor’s note: See updated story posted Aug. 8, 2022.

Sandra Scott knew there had been bears in the vicinity of her home on South Albright McKay Road. Neighbors have seen them over the years, and there have been times when she was outside at night and heard something large in the woods snapping trees, and could only surmise it was a bear.

She got confirmation June 8 when a young black bear came out of the woods, checked the feeders in her yard and left.

“The first time I’ve ever seen one,” Scott said. “It was fun.”

Scott’s was one of many sightings of a bear throughout Brookfield and Masury in early June. The sightings ended when a bear was tranquilized June 9 in Sharon, and relocated to Pennsylvania state game lands on Carlisle Road, west of Greenville.

The relocated bear was killed when it was hit by a vehicle June 25 on Route 11 near Orwell, Ohio, said Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jason Amory.

Scott said her husband initially spotted the bear.

“He (bear) went to all the feeders,” she said, noting she has bird and deer feeders in her yard. “He just casually came through.”

Photo contributed by Donna Haible.

The Scott’s dog, who was inside, “went berserk” when it saw the bear. The bear appeared to hear the commotion and headed back to the woods.

The bear appeared to be about 6 feet tall when it stood up. Scott said she believed it was young.

“He looked like his fur was looser,” she said. “He wasn’t real filled out like some older bears are.”

Donna Haible, who lives on King Graves Road, near Warner Road, also saw a bear wander out of woods into her yard that day. She said she shouldn’t have been surprised – she’s seen bear scat in her yard before – but was anyway.

“It was exciting to see,” she said. “It was something you weren’t expecting to see. I was so shocked I couldn’t even take a picture on my phone.”

She did get photos and video from a trail camera she placed in the yard to capture images of deer and turkeys.
“I watched him as long as he was in view,” Haible said. “He didn’t look like he was looking for trouble. He was just strolling along.”

The bear was “good sized,” about 3 feet tall at the shoulder, with a shiny coat and appeared to be healthy.

promo“He was gorgeous,” Haible said.

The bear caught in Sharon weighed 332 pounds and was a healthy male, Amory said. An ear tag was placed on the bear, and it was given a cursory health examination to look for topical infections and other obvious issues.

“Just getting ready to start mating probably,” Amory said.

The age of the bear was not known, he said, noting that size is generally not a good indicator of age.

Bears are taken to areas where they are less likely to come into conflict with humans, but death by motor vehicles of relocated bears “happens more often than we’d like,” Amory said.
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For more information on bears in Ohio, go to newsonthegreen.com and search for the story we published April 17, 2018.