VIRGINIA BEACH (WAVY) — Virginia Beach is making headlines with sunbathers returning to the beaches on Friday, but don’t forget about the other hot topic in town, the bears.
After WAVY reported the sighting of a young black bear in the Kings Grant area of the city on Thursday, a Shore Drive resident sent in video of a small bear roaming through his backyard — one with a 6-foot-tall fence.
Wayne Fox, who lives in the Cape Story by the Sea neighborhood, one block from the Shore Drive/North Great Road Food Lion, says his security camera caught the bear around 11:30 Wednesday night.
It’s unclear if it’s the same bear that was spotted in the Kings Grant area around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, but looks to be of similar size. It would’ve had to walk at least 8 miles in about 10 hours, so it’s certainly do-able for a bear.
What’s unusual about both sightings is that they were both in northern areas of the city, not south of I-264. Bear sightings are less common the farther you get from the Great Dismal Swamp, with lots of busy roads and neighborhoods to go through. The “Shadowlawn Bear” made it all the way to the Oceanfront area back in 2011.
Virginia Beach Animal Control has yet to make a bear sighting this week, but stay with WAVY as Bear Watch 2020 continues. Remember, if you spot a bear, keep a safe distance and know it’s illegal to feed bears in Virginia. Animal Control officers can be reached on the non-emergency line: 757-385-5000.
More local bear content from WAVY:
‘Paddington’s cousin’ spotted in Suffolk
Black bear spotted multiple times in Portsmouth neighborhood
