People in Worcester, Massachusetts are still on the lookout for a black bear roaming around the city.

A WBZ-TV photographer spotted the young black bear crossing a street Thursday night just hours after it had spent the day popping up in different neighborhoods.

“My heat was racing”

Another person caught the bear on camera scaling a retaining wall near Doherty High School, as Environmental Police followed close behind. Parents picking up their kids from school spotted the bear meandering nearby. A half a mile away, it came face-to-face with Gail Barrell in her backyard.

“My heart was racing,” said Barrell. “I was terrified, so he looked at me and just kept going on, but I ran, running up to the house screaming.”

“We’ve been here 22 years and never saw a bear,” said neighbor Phil Barrell. Moments earlier, the bear galloped across the backyard of a home before it climbed a tree then hopped a fence.

Ray Barbera said the bear was also in his yard on Clement Street. “It’s not unusual anymore, but it still catches you off guard. It’s a big animal,” he told WBZ.

Why are bears in Worcester? 

MassWildlife experts said it’s mating season, a time when young bears start venturing away from their mothers, so newly independent cubs could be roaming around.

Dave Wattles, a black bear biologist with MassWildlife, said sightings are definitely becoming more common.

“Our bear population in Worcester County is growing rapidly,” he said. “Ten years ago we had a female who denned on the Worcester Airport property right, raising cubs there. But now, there’s many females that live in that area, her offspring, their offspring. The population now has grown rapidly.”

As for the bear spotted Thursday, Wattles said it’s “probably a year-and-a-half old. It has just recently dispersed from its mom, and so it’s essentially a teenager that’s now trying to find its own way in the world.”

Wattles said black bears are not inherently aggressive toward people but there will be efforts to control the population.

“There’s going to be a large increase to our bear hunting season this fall as a means of kind of curbing this population growth, so it doesn’t continue to push now, moving further and further towards Boston,” he said.

Wattles said the best thing you can do is give the bear space, secure your trash and remove bird feeders from your yard.

Currently, there are no plans to try to tranquilize the bear. They’re hoping it finds its way back to a forest. 

If a bear is in a very populated area, contact the Environmental Police Radio Room at 1-800-632-8075 or the nearest MassWildlife District Office to report the sighting and get advice.