Yonkers Bear Sightings Have Neighbors On Edge: Police Release Photo

YONKERS, NY — Officials confirmed they received reports of an unusual visitor to the third largest city in New York.

Late Sunday night, the Yonkers Police Department warned that they had received reports of one or more black bears sighted in the Fox Terrace area next to the Dunwoodie Golf Course. They said that the wild animal (or animals) retreated into the wooded areas without any incident.

Officials released a photo of one of the bears that was spotted prowling the city.

While bears roaming around southern Westchester County might be rare, it is not unheard of.

In May of 2015, a black bear was spotted several times in Yonkers, near Desmond Ave. and the Bronx River Parkway, before finally being tranquilized and captured in a wooded area near Central Park Ave. The bear was then transported to the Cranberry Mountain State Park in Putnam County and released.

"A bear is nothing more than a large raccoon," Tom Koepf of the Department of Environmental Conservation told WABC-TV at the time. "If there's food out they're going to eat it, they're just scavengers."

The best way to keep bears from entering a yard is to remove any sort of food, public safety officials say. Even bird feeders should be removed by April 1, according to NYS DEC recommendations. Garbage cans should be emptied frequently and kept clean. Compost piles should be moved as far away from houses as possible. Grills with leftover grease can also attract bears, officials warned.

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) advises that bears will only be encouraged to leave an area unless the bear creates a public disturbance, acts aggressively towards people or pets, attempts to enter homes or is injured and cannot move freely to escape.

Yonkers police said that any aggressive, attacking or emergency behavior should immediately be reported by calling 911. Nuisance reports of animals can be reported to the NYS DEC here.

Yonkers police also provided helpful links to find more information about black bears, reducing human-bear conflicts and black bear encounters.

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