As the weather turns colder with the arrival of fall, bears are starting to be spotted again around the City of Greater Sudbury.
Erika Schieman captured photos of a big black bear in the Moonglow subdivision in the city's South End area Tuesday morning.
"(I) have concerns for kids who will be waiting for buses across the street shortly," she told CTV News in an email.
The bear lumbered across her driveway just after 8 a.m. Oct. 10. and came right up to her garage on Crater Crescent and Moonrock.
The city keeps track of bear sightings on its report-a-bear map.
As of Tuesday morning, there are a bunch of older bear sightings reported, with just two in the last seven days.
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Ontario's Bear Wise program says not every bear sighting is an emergency and to only call 911 or police if "a bear poses an immediate threat to personal safety and exhibits threatening or aggressive behaviour.
The following situations constitute an emergency call if a bear:
- Enters a schoolyard when school is in session
- Stalks people and lingers at a site
- Enters or tries to enter a residence
- Wanders into a public gathering
- Kills livestock/pets and lingers at the site
Non-emergency encounters can be reported at 1-866-514-2327 and are for when a bear:
- Roams around or checks garbage cans
- Breaks into a shed where garbage or food is stored
- Is in a tree
- Pulls down a bird feeder or knocks over a barbecue
- Moves through a backyard or field but does not linger
For pet owners, it is recommended to keep your dog on a leash.
"Be aware that unleashed dogs can cause defensive black bear attacks on people. Unleashed dogs returning to their owners can cause a chase response that may lead a bear back to the owner," Bear Wise said.
More information about how to stay safe in bear country can be found here.
