Bear travels through city
No problems reportedBy DAVE PAYNE Sr., dpayne@newsandsentinel.com
PARKERSBURG - A black bear traveled through downtown Parkersburg earlier this week, but apparently behaved itself and moved on, West Virginia wildlife officials said.
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources biologist J.R. Hill said there were several sightings of a black bear in Wood County Monday, but the bear apparently caused no problems and was just passing through.
"We hardly ever have reports of bears in Parkersburg, but when we do, seems like it's always around the fourth of July," he said.
The bear was first seen in the Rockport area Monday and later in the day there were reports of the bear being seen crossing Camden Avenue near the East Street Bridge and near the I-77 bridge over the Little Kanawha River.
Bears are more plentiful in the eastern and southern parts of West Virginia, but they are found in each of West Virginia's 55 counties. Bears are more rare in Ohio.
West Virginia DNR biologist Jeff McCrady said the people begin to notice bears when they cause problems. Bears who behave themselves are far less likely to get noticed, he said.
There is, however, a sizable and expanding bear population in southern West Virginia, including Kanawha County. A bear was sighted in downtown Charleston recently. Male bears travel great distances in search of females. There was also an unrelated sighting in southern Roane County in the Linden area Monday, Hill said.
Hill said there are a few bears living in the area, but most of the bears one might see are wandering through from other places.
Chris Ryan, black bear project leader for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, said problems begin when bears associate human-inhabited areas with an easy meal.
"Bears that wander near residential areas in search of food are less likely to stay if they do not find anything to eat. People need to secure garbage in bear-proof facilities and place trash out for collection on the morning of pick-up, not the night before. Residents should remove all outside pet food at night, and bird feeders should be taken down, cleaned and stored until late fall to further discourage feeding around human habitation," Ryan said.
The Parkersburg DNR office gets around 10 calls each year about bears, mostly from the southern part of the area, such as Ritchie and Jackson counties.
As the black bear population expands in West Virginia, the Mid-Ohio Valley is likely to see more bears in the next few years, said Ed Smolder, West Virginia University extension agent for Jackson County.
"We're not that far from Charleston, the bear population is expanding down there and they have to expand someplace. Places like Boone and Kanawha county are full of bears. Bears are a lot like a hog, they are opportunistic eaters, but if they don't see anything to eat, they move on," he said.
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07-04-08 3:46 PM
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A bear is a bear and not to be taken lightly. Or at least I wouldn't take it lightly if I saw a bear just casually walking down the street. Is this a black bear that's been spotted?? The wildlife in Parkersburg is quickly expanding throughout the area. I have a lot of problems with coyotes around my property. And the deer are everywhere. I have seen so many deer lying on the road from being hit. Rosemar is really bad about it. This is not a comment to gripe about anything. It's just something I have noticed since living here for the last 3 or 4 years.
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vortex
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07-03-08 8:51 PM
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The reason he moved through Parkersburg quietly is because he was afraid Newell would get his hands on it's wallet.
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walleye
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07-03-08 5:14 PM
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Near Rte 31 & Rte 50 there is a deer feeder and a trail camera set up to watch deer & turkey. I know of two sitings last Summer of what appeared to be a adult female black bear. Guess they can show up any place. The sitings in Williamstown Tomilson Park and in North Hill 5 yeas back brought quite a bit of attention.
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RickWT
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07-03-08 4:54 PM
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There are more than a few bears out in the remote parts of our area these days. It's just that most of them are smart enough to stay out of town. A friend who's with the DNR told me it's the "teenage" bears looking for love in all the wrong places that get in these crazy situations. Apparently bears and humans have that in common.
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yolarry
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07-03-08 4:34 PM
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"Bears that wander near residential areas in search of food are less likely to stay if they do not find anything to eat. People need to secure garbage in bear-proof facilities and place trash out for collection on the morning of pick-up, not the night before. Residents should remove all outside pet food at night, and bird feeders should be taken down, cleaned and stored until late fall to further discourage feeding around human habitation," Ryan said. Oh wow really? If somebody that scared of black bears that much is a chicken. (talking about removing bird feeders) They just wanna stop by wendys because the rac***** told them about it.
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walleye
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07-03-08 7:45 AM
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We had an adult bear visit our yard on Sunday evening about dark. This was on Grandview St. in Edgelawn. A neighbor has a photo of 2 cubs near her trailer in Grandview Manor. as Stated by DNR the bears appearantly were just passing thru and created little excitement.
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