WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -
Police shot and killed a bear in the northwest part of the city Monday night, calling the animal a threat to residents in the area.
Homeowners along Kramer Court reported seeing the bear going through their trash cans around 9 p.m.
Over the past few days, Winston-Salem police have received nearly a dozen calls of bear sightings within the city limits. Prior to the Kramer Court sighting, the latest had been near the intersection of Robinhood and Peace Haven roads.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission says bear sightings are not uncommon this time of year. In fact, during the spring and summer mating season, young male bears tend to wander, and anything from garbage to bird seed will attract them.
Once they find an area with plenty to eat, bears will tend to return, wildlife officers say.
After officers killed the bear Monday, they called in sanitation crews to take it away and notified wildlife officers of the incident.
The bear population in North Carolina has nearly tripled since 1971, from 4,000 bears then to an estimated 11,000 bears in 2004.
Homeowners along Kramer Court reported seeing the bear going through their trash cans around 9 p.m.
Over the past few days, Winston-Salem police have received nearly a dozen calls of bear sightings within the city limits. Prior to the Kramer Court sighting, the latest had been near the intersection of Robinhood and Peace Haven roads.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission says bear sightings are not uncommon this time of year. In fact, during the spring and summer mating season, young male bears tend to wander, and anything from garbage to bird seed will attract them.
Once they find an area with plenty to eat, bears will tend to return, wildlife officers say.
After officers killed the bear Monday, they called in sanitation crews to take it away and notified wildlife officers of the incident.
The bear population in North Carolina has nearly tripled since 1971, from 4,000 bears then to an estimated 11,000 bears in 2004.
