Bear watch is back on in the Boston area — Needham residents have been spotting a bear wandering the streets Thursday and Friday.
It comes after a bear sighting in Newton over the weekend and multiple sightings north of the Charles River in Arlington and Lexington Monday, including one that delayed the opening of a school.
Needham police confirmed Friday morning they'd received reports of sightings in a Facebook post that began, "🐻🐻 Bear Alert 🐻🐻."
They urged residents not to follow the bear, report sightings to MassWildlife at 978-772-2145 and "Secure all food resources including dumpsters and bird feeders."
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Needham social media groups lit up Thursday afternoon and Friday morning with sightings. It wasn't immediately clear if there was one bear in the town or multiple. One person said they'd been told by Needham Animal Control to take care walking their pet.
It wasn't immediately clear if there was one bear in Needham or more than one. Statewide, there are an estimated 4,500 and their range is expanding east, according to MassWildlife, which notes on a website that "young bears and wandering males often find themselves east of Route 495."
A UMass Amherst project tracks bear sightings in the state on an interactive map.
MassWildlife encourages anyone who sees a bear in their yard to harass it by making loud sounds — banging pots or blowing a whistle works — and to remove any sources of food. People who encounter a black bear up close should talk to it in a calm voice, back away without running and fight back.
Dogs should be leashed and prevented from interacting with bears at all, let along chasing them. Bears may become aggressive if they see a dog, according to MassWildlife.
School was delayed for an hour on Monday morning in Arlington as authorities worked to track down a bear spotted in the town. The bear was later spotted near Lexington's Wilson Farm romping around near a greenhouse.
Police in nearby Newton had issued an advisory to residents on Sunday after a black bear was spotted in the Newton Highlands area near Cold Springs Park.
An in New Hampshire on Thursday, a bear snuck into a work truck and helped itself to a man's snack.
