A black bear was seen on Tuesday morning at Old Mountain Field and tracked to South Kingstown High School. The animal was last spotted heading north on North Road. Police said the bear was not aggressive and did not approach people.
The sighting comes after 10 bear reports in one week in Cranston, earlier this month.
“We’re definitely getting more reports of bear sightings,” said Mike Healey, public affairs director for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
“Rhode Island really doesn’t have its own bear population,” Healey added. “Bears move – they can travel a long distance in search of available food sources. So we’re probably seeing bear traffic from other states.”
Environmental officials estimate there are 700 black bears in Connecticut and the number is growing by 10% a year. There are more than 4,000 bears though to be living in Massachusetts.
Healey said this population growth is coming into Rhode Island.
“I think because we’re so ‘ocean-focused’ in Rhode Island, we can kind of forget that we have ideal habitat for bears. Given the growing population of bears in Southern New England, we’re seeing some of that in Rhode Island too.”
To avoid attracting bears, Healey recommends removing bird feeders until the fall, bringing dog food bowls inside at night and keeping barbecue grills clean of grease. If you see a bear, environmental officials say you should back away slowly and call the DEM Division of Law Enforcement at 222-3070.