Black bear spends summer afternoon on family's porch
A bear spent the start of the Labor Day weekend on a Massachusetts family's back porch, enjoying some food intended for area birds.
The family, who lives in Boxford, Mass., told sister station WCVB that the bear came right up onto the deck while they were inside the home.
The family puts birdseed out on the railings because they like to attract the birds. On Friday, the winged visitors got pushed out by a much larger predator.
"I was like, 'Oh, my God, there's a bear in my backyard,'" Katie Adams said.
She said she was on a zoom call when the bear approached. "The bear walked up these steps and then stood up and put his arms on both sides of the deck and just started eating all the bird food," Adams said.
Wildlife officials say it appears the same bear has been traversing towns north of Boston from Middleton to Lowell.
In the last few months, wildlife officials said they believe the same bear is responsible for reported sightings in Middleton, Peabody, Danvers, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Woburn and Billerica.
They say black bears don't live around here, but that it's not unusual for a single bear to go wandering.
"While these towns are not within the established black bear range in Massachusetts, it’s not unusual for individual bears to wander into these areas," MassWildlife said.
Anyone who sees a bear in their neighborhood should leave it alone and keep dogs under control.
Simply seeing a bear in town or in a suburban neighborhood is not cause for concern, MassWildlife said. If left alone, bears usually return to less populated areas on their own.