A small black bear was the talk of a Bergen County town Sunday after it scampered up a utility pole outside a popular bakery and attracted the attention of passersby and police.
The bear was spotted about 1:05 p.m. in the area of Franklin and Wyckoff avenues outside Palermo’s Café & Bakery, according to Wyckoff police.
Wykoff is about an hour’s drive northwest of New York City.
Tyler Franco of Franklin Lakes posted photos on social media of the bear clinging to the pole about 15 to 20 feet off the sidewalk outside the bakery in the 300 block of Franklin Avenue.
Lt. Joseph Soto, spokesman for the township police department, said officers who responded to the scene “kept an eye” on the bear and notified animal control.
However, animal control officers do not respond to bear sightings unless the animal is a nuisance or aggressive. This bear was neither, Soto said.
Soto said the bear was on the pole for about 15 minutes before climbing down and heading to a nearby pond for a drink of water.
“The bear came down and ambled away. That’s really it. The bear was drinking water from a nearby pond and (continued) west on Franklin Avenue,” Soto said.
“We just monitor them and make sure they’re not going to be aggressive toward anybody and let them walk back into the woods or wherever it is they need to go,” he added.
Wyckoff police earlier this month issued an advisory about a black bear wandering the area.
“We are aware of a bear sighting earlier in the Ravine Avenue area. We are monitoring the incident (and) at this time it does not appear to be aggressive,” police said in a May 1 Facebook post.
Soto said on Monday police are not sure Sunday’s bear was the same one spotted earlier in the month.
“We do get bear sightings from time to time. It could be the same one, I don’t know. I’d be reluctant to say,” Soto said.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reports on its website that the state’s black bear population has increased since the 1980s and bears have been spotted beyond the forests into all 21 counties.
Residents are warned not to feed black bears and the DEP says anyone caught feeding the animals could face fines of up to $1,000 for each offense.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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