{"id":646693,"date":"2026-05-16T12:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/646693\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T12:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:44:08","slug":"black-bear-sighted-in-downriver-neighborhood-the-5-things-to-do-when-encountering-bears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/646693\/","title":{"rendered":"Black bear sighted in Downriver neighborhood — the 5 things to do when encountering bears"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLAT ROCK, Mich. \u2013 A black bear was spotted in a Downriver community, and officials trying to make sure residents are prepared for a possible bear encounter.<\/p>\n

According to authorities<\/a>, the video was captured near Woodruff Road between I-75 and Olmstead Road. It shows the bear moving through a yard before continuing north.<\/p>\n

Police did not say when this occurred.<\/p>\n

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has been notified and is monitoring the situation.<\/p>\n

Residents are urged to secure garbage cans and keep pets inside or under close supervision. Anyone who spots the bear is asked to stay indoors and contact the DNR at 800-292-7800<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update: Black bear spotted on security cameras in Downriver communities stuns residents<\/a><\/p>\n

About black bears in Michigan<\/p>\n

The black bear is the only bear species found in Michigan. They are solitary animals mostly found in the Upper Peninsula and are generally not aggressive, tending to leave an area when food is not available.<\/p>\n

The DNR says the best action when encountering a black bear is to slowly walk backward while speaking to it in a stern voice.<\/p>\n

The DNR suggests people be SMART when encountering bears.<\/p>\n

S — Stand your ground. Do not run or play dead.<\/p>\n

M — Make loud noises and back away slowly.<\/p>\n

A — Always provide a clear, unobstructed escape route for the bear.<\/p>\n

R — Rarely do bears attack. If they do, fight back.<\/p>\n

T — Treat bears with respect and observe them from a distance.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FLAT ROCK, Mich. \u2013 A black bear was spotted in a Downriver community, and officials trying to make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[276420,279014,79,27208,201],"class_list":["post-646693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-flat-rock","tag-rockwood","tag-science","tag-wayne-county","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}