Big-City Bear Visits Fulton County Jail

ATLANTA, GA — Visiting hours were over, but that didn't stop a highly unusual appearance at Fulton County Jail early Friday morning.

A black bear was spotted roaming around the jail on Atlanta's Rice Street — a whole lot closer to the heart of downtown Atlanta than to the north Georgia mountains where thousands of the bears are known to roam.

A vendor captured photos of the bear moseying around the jail, snooping in trashcans and planters and approaching the front door before wandering away. Nobody knows where the bear came from, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.

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The Georgia Department of Natural Resources was notified and jail staff reached out to residents in the nearby Howell Station neighborhood, advising them to keep children and pets close and secure their trash. Anyone who sees a bear is encouraged to call 911.

While the curious jail-visitor's origins are unknown, the jail is located just east of Westside Reservoir Park, an abandoned granite quarry along the Atlanta Beltline's Westside Trail that the city is converting into an urban greenspace.

It's certainly unusual for a wild animal to pup up in such an urban setting. But this is definitely the time of year when black bears are most likely to be seen in Georgia.

Related News: Black Bears Appearing Early In Georgia This Year

In the spring, most bears encountered outside of their typical range are young male bears trying to establish their own territory after no longer being protected by a mother bear. In some cases, though, it can be mothers with cubs or other mature bears in search of a new home or steady source of food.

This year, Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials reported that black bears were being spotted as early as March — much earlier than usual. They say that as development brings urban and suburban areas into once-rural settings, it's natural that more bears will be seen roaming around.

Black bears are the only bears found in Georgia and are a high priority in the state's conservation strategy. While they are now the most common bear in North America, black bears were nearly eradicated from Georgia in the 1930s due to unregulated market hunting, poaching and large-scale habitat loss.

There are no recorded bear attacks on humans in Georgia, and no fatalities, the DNR says. There have only ever been two documented fatal black bear attacks in the Southeastern United States, according to the department.

"Unless there is evidence of aggressive behavior or habituation to people, there is no cause for alarm," said Adam Hammond, state bear biologist with the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, in March. "More and more, we are seeing bears show up and frequent areas outside of what we typically think of as 'traditional bear range.' "

The DNR now estimates there are about 5,100 black bears living in Georgia.

They may be legally hunted in the fall in certain areas, but killing bears any other time or in an area that is not approved is considered poaching and is illegal. Georgians are encouraged to report any illegal bear hunting they know about.

To learn more about living responsibly with bears in Georgia, visit the DNR's Web page on the topic or watch this video. And take a look at photos of Friday morning's jail visitor below:

Photos courtesy Fulton County Sheriff's Office