WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Flowers are blooming and warmer temperatures are here, both sure signs of spring. But the season also brings out something else: black bears.<\/p>\n
One video sent in from a viewer shows a black bear running near Wrightsville and Wilshire Avenue on Monday.<\/p>\n
It sounds like a pretty crazy sight, but experts say it\u2019s actually pretty normal for black bears to be roaming around this time of year.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of what we\u2019re seeing are last year\u2019s bear yearlings getting kicked out by mom and going out on their own,\u201d said N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission District Biologist John Henry Harrelson. \u201cThey\u2019re figuring out their home range.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second bear was spotted this week too in Brunswick County. Sadly, it was hit on Highway 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have quite a few bears get hit on highway 17 every year,\u201d said Harrelson. \u201cI encourage people to be aware on the roadway, pay attention to wildlife that could be moving across our roads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sightings aren\u2019t just happening in our area; they\u2019re happening all over the state. Wildlife experts say most of them are looking for something to eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cBears are really food-driven so if you take away the food, you\u2019re going to take away the interactions with bears,\u201d said Harrelson.<\/p>\n