Black bear tries to go to church

Officials say get used to it -- black bears are our neighbors.

By: Kipp Hanley | InsideNova
Published: June 10, 2009

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.

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Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.