VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Officials are warning Virginia Beach residents to stay alert after a black bear was spotted roaming the streets.
The report came in late last week in the Indian River Plantation neighborhood off of Indian River Road.
Kathy McNamara remembers the heart-dropping moments when she spotted a huge black bear outside her home last year.
"I first saw it in the grassy area. He was sniffing around and just looking for food, I guess. And then he came back to the fence over here and jumped over that fence into her yard. It was huge," she said.
After learning another bear was recently spotted in her neighborhood, she's worried about her dogs.
"The dogs were out here and they hadn't seen it yet, so I quickly got them in the house because they would have gone nuts! It's scary because we allow our dogs to run free in the backyard. It's fenced and we feel safe that way. But with these bear sightings, it leaves us a little bit nervous," she said.
"We are concerned. There are kids in the neighborhood so we're worried about them," neighbor Terry Bass said.
Wildlife biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Peter Acker says he's not surprised.
"They're coming out of their dens and it's also mating season so they're moving around a lot and being seen in new areas," he said.
The bear population is growing in Virginia. There are an estimated 17,000-18,000 black bears in the state, that number has been increasing over the past five to 10 years. Acker says this shouldn't be cause for concern.
"Virginia only has black bears. We don't have grizzly bears. Black bears are not aggressive. They're not more dangerous than any other wild animal like a raccoon or something like that. They're not aggressive towards people. The state of Virginia has never had an unprovoked bear attack," he said.
"This used to be farmland, and now these houses are here. So we're probably interrupting their habitat, and they're just looking for food," McNamara said.
Virginia Beach Animal Control says a food source attracted the bear to the neighborhood. Acker says it's likely the bear will come back looking for food, so it's important to put away anything that would attract it, like pet food, bird feeders and trashcans.