This is right down the street from my parent's house and where I grew up! This is crazy! I think the most wildlife I've ever seen growing up in Clinton was a fox that made it into our back yard when I was a kid. It was actually kinda scary because my dog, E.T. had a stand off with the fox in the backyard, but E.T. was a German Shepherd of some sort (he was a stray that my parent's adopted on my older brother's 5th birthday) and won that battle, the fox ran away and no one was hurt. This black bear situation is a bit different! It looks like this little guy is just a baby, and the story from WJLA says that he was probably abandoned by his mother. My mom is an avid walker so I called her to make sure she took the necessary precautions while on her walk... not that I know what those are.
Here's what Google has to saw about how you should approach an encounter with a black bear:
- Assess the situation
- Do Not Run
- Try to retreat slowly
- Climb a tree if available (climb a tree?!)
- Use pepper spray