WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – A black bear has been wandering around the village of Massena and police are urging people to take precautions.

Surveillance cameras have recorded the bear in villagers’ backyards and driveways. Police confirmed a sighting on Colgate Avenue, but people on social media report seeing the bear strolling around the Maple Street, Hospital Drive and East Avenue neighborhoods.

Resident captures bear on video

Michele Wallenhorst shared her video of the animal walking along her driveway at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, coming close to her home.

“We are very concerned for the safety of the public,” she said. “We will absolutely be cautious when leaving our house after dark.”

Police, DEC urge precautions

Village police urge residents to secure trash, remove bird feeders, clean outdoor grills, and avoid leaving pet food outside to prevent an encounter with the bear.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says after hibernating all winter, bears are hungry and looking for food anywhere they can find it.

“And that brings them within close proximity of people when there’s unnatural food sources that people have provided,” said Brendan Quirion, a big game biologist for the DEC. “The main thing you need to do is remove any source of attractant for that bear. That can be making sure your garbage and recycling is secured or in a shed, removing any grills or smokers that have residual grease or meat on them, making sure that your bee hives and apiaries or your chicken coops have a fence around them, electric fence ideally, and removing bird feeders. Bird feeders aren’t really necessary this time of year to feed the birds; there’s going to be plenty of food for birds throughout the spring and summer. And so you can take those bird feeders down so that way bears won’t access them.”

What to do if you encounter a bear

Quirion said bears will likely be more scared of people than people are of them, but people should still be cautious. The DEC tells people to never approach or try to feed a bear.

“If you see a bear in close proximity to you and it doesn’t know you’re there, always be sure to make noise, make sure the bear knows that you’re there, because you don’t want to surprise a bear. That can lead to the bear acting aggressively and we want to make sure the bear keeps a safe distance from people. Always clap your hands, raise your voice, act large and make sure the bear knows that it’s not welcome there, so it will move on, and you can go about your business,” Quirion said.

For more information on bear safety, click here.