Black bear tries to go to church
Officials say get used to it—black bears are our neighbors.
Maybe he wanted to be saved.
On Sunday, a black bear was spotted on the property of the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Haymarket during the 10:30 a.m. service.
Church administrative assistant Rose Fletcher said the bear did not stick around long after they called the police. Fletcher said she thought the bear might have been spooked when she slammed her car door.
“We made sure everything was safe and secure until it left, and we didn’t have any more problems,” Fletcher said.
There have been multiple bear sightings in Prince William County in the last 10 days including Sudley Road in Manassas last weekend and on Feather Lane in Nokesville the previous Wednesday.
There was also a black bear seen in nearby Clifton on Monday, the first sighting reported in Fairfax County this year.
It’s not unusual to see black bears at this time of year and residents should not panic or feel alarmed when they see one, said animal control officers.
According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Virginia’s bear population is growing, estimating that the population has grown by about 37 percent since 2001.
For the most part, police don’t worry about bears in the county unless they’re “rattling trash cans,” or causing an immediate threat to humans, county police 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn said.
“Leave them alone, or make noise and make them unwelcome,” she said. “We have bears in the county, we need to accept that they live around us.”
Chinn says people who live in neighborhoods where bears have been spotted should remove birdfeeders, trash and pet food that is left outside.
“Remove temptation,” she said. “They’re usually just looking for food.”
There is a healthy population of black bears living in Prince William Forest Park. Black bears are found only in North America and are the smallest of the three bear species living on the continent.
Black bears are less aggressive than their cousin, the grizzly bear, although they can weigh up to 500 pounds and have been known to run at speeds of 30 miles per hour.
Seen a bear? Send us your story and photo here.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
I like the bear jokes.
Please remember that most animals unless approached and backed into a corner will not hurt unless starving or hurt.
The bear came, he listened observed and left, perhaps he shared with the other bears.
Just like boys most animals don’t like to get wet, if the bear comes to your yard and is too close and frightens you turn on the water hose full force while someone calls the warden, unless the animal is ill or provoked it will leave on its own.
Cute! PresBEARtyrian.
No problem cjcan. Should’ve had you doing the reporting! Love the PresBEARterian joke. The newsroom was full of them today, too.
I’m surprised it was an Anglican Church. Judging from the last bear article I would think it would have been PresBEARterian.
From the National Park Service website:
“There is a healthy population of Black Bears living in Prince William Forest Park.“
Kari = Thankyou for the source from which you gathered this info…sure enough the site does claim to have a healthy black bear population. Still not satisfied w/ this claim I contacted an emploee at Prince William Forest Park. He stated that a “healthy population is a stretch but they do come and go periodically.
“There is a healthy population of black bears living in Prince William Forest Park”.
This is an interesting statement to say the least if not 100% untrue. As far as I know there are no black bears residing in this park let alone a healthy population. I’m interested in knowing where the Potomac News got this info. Maybe it should have stated a healthy population in Shenandoah Nat’l Park?
Advertisement