GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Bear sightings all around Guilford County. From Browns Summit, to Summerfield right by the popular Greenway where there are always joggers and bicyclists.
Sherry Long snapped these photos in her Browns Summit neighborhood off of Jackson School Road.
At first, Long thought it was a dog.
"We thought it was like a dog until we saw the rest of the body," She said. "I was like oh my goodness it's a baby bear!"
Long said the bear appeared to be scared.
"It took off running behind my car, it was just so scared"
A bear? Scared?
Turns out, experts say black bears want nothing to do with us.
"They're going to want to move away from people, they don't want to interact with people," Lauren Davis with the Greensboro Science Center said. "People are scary {to them}."
Then how would you explain the little cub running around right in front of a Guilford County home?
Davis says construction is wiping out their habitats, and they're turning to our trash bins for food.
"There's a huge growth spurt that’s going on in Greensboro and surrounding areas, there's a lot of construction," Davis stressed. "And with that construction they're going to lose their natural habitat and push them into areas we don’t normally see them."
So should we be worried?
Are these bear sightings going to become more and more common in our backyards?
"I wouldn't say you would commonly see a black bear in Guilford county or Greensboro, this is a very big busy city they're not going to want be around us," Davis said.
But if you do see one, know that mom is right around the corner and you need to protect yourself.
"She's instantly going to be defensive of her baby and cubs so the best thing you can do is 'hey I'm here, clap stomp, if you've got a dog - put a bell on your dog."
The more noise you make, the better.
The best thing you can do in any kind of forested area is be loud, clap, whistle, have a bell, have keys."
WFMY News 2 has also gotten messages from viewers about a bear sighting on Strawberry Road and 220 in Summerfield, right by the Greenway.
"A bear is much bigger than you, and powerful than you, give it some space and be smart."