Bear Spends Day Roaming Around Peabody

PEABODY, MA — The bears are back on the North Shore.

Peabody police on Wednesday followed reports of a bear in the West Peabody area throughout the afternoon. Police said Wednesday night that city officers and Massachusetts Environmental Police were tracking a bear in backyards by Birch Street and American Drive.

Police said the bear was also spotted in West Peabody near Glen Drive earlier in the day.

"We suggest that you make sure you cover your trash barrels, take in your bird feeders and do not engage with or approach the bear if you see it," police said.

Any resident who sees a bear bounding by is asked to call the non-emergency line at the Peabody Police Department at 978-531-1212.

This is the latest in a series of bear sightings on the North Shore in recent months.

Ten days after a black bear that was believed to be the one seen passing through Danvers, Woburn and other North Shore communities was literally caught robbing a chicken coop in North Reading, another bear was spotted barreling through Middleton on Sept. 1.

Middleton and Environmental police tracked that bear for several hours before they said the "bear has been sighted moving off into deeper woods and officials are standing down at this time."

MassWildlife separately warned in a recent article that drought conditions could prompt an uptick in bear sightings as bears push deeper into residential areas looking for food.

Police shared multiple tips to stay safe from bears. Those can be seen here:

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)