A black bear was captured on camera late Tuesday night in a backyard in Owings Mills.
Video from a resident's security camera showed the black bear rummaging around the backyard just before midnight. He briefly inspects a sealed bucket.
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, black bears are typically found in the western counties of Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick. This makes the Baltimore County sighting somewhat unusual.
Brian Eyler, game mammal section leader wildlife and heritage service at the Department of Natural Resources, said bear populations in the Western part of Maryland and in neighboring Pennsylvania have rebounded in recent years so while the Baltimore County sightings are uncommon but not unheard of.
"First and foremost, bears black bears generally are not dangerous animals. The one exception being if you do happen to get between a sow and cubs, so they can be aggressive," Eyler said. "But for the most part, black bears are docile and not, you know, a dangerous animal, the best thing you can do is if you do encounter a black bear is to give it space."
Eyler recommends that in addition to giving bears space and prepare your backyard so they don't encourage bear visits.
"You can be proactive and try to minimize that. And you can do that by eliminating food attractants. The video shows that bear looking at that bucket, he's looking for food. So you know, so whether it's a bird seed or a grill with grease on it, or garbage and trash, you know, that's going to attract black bears and other wildlife as well," Eyler said.
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