A black bear has been spotted in Belfast over the last week and Belfast police are advising residents to take extra precautions to stay safe.
Bear sightings in Belfast are typically pretty rare, said Belfast Police Chief Robert Cormier. He cautions nearby residents and businesses to remove bird feeders at night, secure their dumpsters and keep trash cans in fenced areas if possible.
“Once they find food in a particular area, they’ll keep coming back,” Cormier said.
Karla Schwarze from Northport was just opening her car door to head inside Belfast Dental Care on Fahy Street for a midday appointment on June 6 when a bear walked out of the woods right through the empty parking spot just feet from her.
It was a bit of a close call, Schwarze said, but she really appreciated getting to see the bear.
“The thing that struck me was that the bear looked perfect. It didn’t look like a wild animal, it wasn’t dirty, it wasn’t scuffed up,” Schwarze said. “It looked like a movie bear. He was just so pretty.”
The bear meandered through the parking lot over the next few minutes while Schwarze stayed in her car and gave her dentist a call to say she might be a little late for her appointment.
“[The bear] didn’t seem concerned about much, he wasn’t in a hurry, he wasn’t worried about me or anything else around,” Schwarze said. “He was just going for a walk.”
Police responded to a call about the sighting on Fahy Street at 12:30 p.m. that day, but were unable to locate the bear.
Just a few days later, Belfast City Councilor Neal Harkness heard banging coming from his yard on Miller Street late Sunday night. At first, he thought maybe it was a raccoon taking swipes at the bird feeder, but after a particularly loud clattering he went out to investigate.
The metal shepherd’s hook holding up the dual bird feeder had been completely bent over, and one of the feeders had been stolen. While he didn’t see the bear, he couldn’t imagine what else would’ve been able to do that much damage so quickly.
Harkness has never had a bear in yard before, but said there’s still a fair amount of wooded area nearby despite being so close to downtown Belfast. While he sees the bird feeder thievery as more humorous than anything, he contacted the police department and posted online just to make sure people in the area were informed.
“There’s a lot of people that live in town that maybe moved here from elsewhere or maybe more urban settings, they need to be aware,” Harkness said.
Belfast police have notified the Maine Warden Service of the sighting and have been on the lookout since, Cormier said. Wardens will respond if the bear becomes a nuisance in the future, he said.
The best thing to do if you spot a bear is to keep your distance, and let the police department know, Cormier said.
“Definitely don’t try to feed them,” Cormier said.
