CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The black bears who were up in a tree in Chesapeake on Monday safely made their way down and left the area, police confirmed.
Chesapeake Animal Services and police spent the day monitoring a female black bear and three cubs in the Western Branch area of the city. People were asked to stay in their homes until Virginia wildlife conservation officers could figure out how to help.
"Black bears can be unpredictable, especially when sows (mothers) have cubs. This is an extremely stressful situation for the bears, so it's important to stay away from the area," the city wrote on its Animal Services Facebook page. "That includes driving past the site."
Officials kept roads in the area closed to give the bears space and encourage them to move along. On Tuesday morning, a spokesperson with the Chesapeake Police Department said the bears came down on their own around midnight.
Black bears live in many areas across the United States and Canada, but they tend to prefer forested areas without many people.
According to the National Park Service, black bears in some warmer climates don't enter a "true hibernation" during the winter months, like their northern counterparts. Their cubs are typically born during winter.
